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National Sleep Foundation Poll Finds Exercise Key To Good Sleep

“Exercise is great for sleep. For the millions of people who want better sleep, exercise may help.” - David Cloud, CEO of the National Sleep Foundation (NSF)

Have you ever told someone how you ‘slept like a baby’ after a tough workout, or a long day of physical exertion? Well, it turns out you don’t have to climb Mount Kilamonjaro to get a good night’s rest. The results of the National Sleep Foundation’s 2013 Sleep in America® poll show just how beneficial exercise can be to a good night’s sleep:

• Exercisers say they sleep better - Among people who sleep roughly the same amount each night, exercisers reported better sleep than non-exercisers. “If you are inactive, adding a 10 minute walk every day could improve your likelihood of a good night’s sleep,” says Max Hirshkowitz, PhD, poll task force chair.
• Vigorous exercisers report the best sleep - Vigorous exercisers are almost twice as likely as non-exercisers to report “I had a good night’s sleep.” More than two-thirds of vigorous exercisers say they rarely have sleep problems such as waking up too early and difficulty falling asleep, while one-half of non-exercisers experienced these problems.
• Non-exercisers are the sleepiest and have the highest risk for sleep apnea - Participants were evaluated on how ‘sleepy’ they were using a standard excessive sleepiness clinical screening measure. The poll found that non-exercisers had a high sleepiness level about twice as often as exercisers. Here’s an interesting finding: non-exercisers reported having trouble staying awake while driving nearly three times the rate of those who exercise. Non exercisers were more than two times as likely to have symptoms of sleep apnea (a serious medical condition in which a person stops breathing during sleep) than vigorous exercisers.
• Less time sitting is associated with better sleep and health - How much data have we seen lately showing how much sitting is ruining our lives? This study also found that people who sit for less than eight hours a day are twice as more likely to say they have “very good” sleep quality than those who sit for eight hours or more. The same comparison is seen in overall health: non-sitters were twice as likely to report having ‘excellent health’.
• Exercise at any time of day appears to be good for sleep - But when is the best time to exercise? As far away from bedtime as possible, right? Not exactly. According to the study, those who report exercising close to bedtime and earlier in the day do not demonstrate a difference in self-reported sleep quality. For most people, exercise at any time seems to be better for sleep than no exercise at all.

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