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Good sleep is very important for health, but many people suffer from sleep problems. Exercise and physical activity during the day play a central role in the quality of sleep.
In a new study, experts from the University of South Australia (UniSA) examined the connection between physical activity and sleep. The results are published in the English-language journal “Sleep Health”.
Sleep disorders endanger your health
Whether you’re an early riser or a late riser, poor sleep quality can lead to serious health problems, and “even though we already know a lot about sleep, many people still have difficulty getting good sleep,” says study author Dr. Lisa Matricciani in a recent press release.
When it comes to improving sleep quality, most people focus on measures immediately before going to bed and, for example, before going to bed, care is taken not to eat too much or to spend as little time as possible in front of the television or with other technical devices, the researchers explain.
Viewed over the entire day
The new study, meanwhile, looked at the effects of physical activity over the course of 24 hours on nighttime sleep. To do this, the researchers examined the sleep of a total of 1,168 children with an average age of twelve years and 1,360 adults with an average age of 44 years.
According to the team, the relationship between time use – actigraphically measured sleep duration, sedentary activity, light physical activity and moderate physical activity – and the dimensions of sleep quality were examined using a so-called compositional data analysis.
Physical activity improves sleep
“We found that children and adults felt less tired, had fewer sleep problems, and slept better when they increased their moderate to vigorous physical activity,” concludes Dr. Matricciani together.
According to Dr. Matricciani showed that various aspects of sleep, such as sleep efficiency (actual sleep time compared to time spent in bed), sleep quality, total sleep duration, bedtime and daytime fatigue, are significantly influenced by daytime activities became.
Sometimes it’s the activities themselves that interfere with sleep, such as children playing video games late into the night. But sometimes it’s the way people spend their day that can have a significant impact on sleep, explains Dr. Matricciani.
The results show that children and adults with a higher level of moderate to intensive physical activity had fewer sleep disorders, suffered less from fatigue and generally had better sleep quality, the researchers emphasize.
When participants took more time to sleep, they also fell asleep earlier, woke up later and had a more regular but also less efficient sleep pattern, the experts added.
In summary, there is a clear connection between daily activities and sleep, and the pattern of activity during the day can help significantly improve people’s sleep health, the research team concluded. (as)