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Exercise: Treadmill it!
Oh, some of you are probably thinking, "Exercise…yuck". That is understandable if one considers how tired we are after a long day or week's work. But, the irony is…exercise, on the whole, can help us feel more energetic and can help us sleep better and deeper at night. Increasing one's activity allows some of the build up stress locked inside our bodies out in a healthy and effective manner. Overall, not many of us without medical conditions can say that exercise is not good for our overall health…we all know better than that. Of course, if any one of us has a medical condition, we should schedule an appointment with our healthcare provider and get an educated and informed opinion before starting any exercise program.
"How does exercise help sleep?"
Exercise increases circulation in the entire body, burns calories, increases respiration, strengthens the heart, builds stronger bones, reduces levels of cholesterol, tones muscles, relieves stress in the body, makes us feel better (most people) by the release of 'feel-good' endorphins into our blood stream, increases nocturnal growth hormone while we sleep, and increases body temperature. Each one of these things can be broken down and shown how it promotes both general and specific well being for each of us.
Although exercise is good for us at anytime during the day, for the purpose of helping our sleep with maximal results, afternoon and early-evening exercise times are the best for producing deeper sleep. Early morning exercise can lead to mid-afternoon troughs in our wakefulness with the drop in body temperature achieved from the mornings exercise.
There are some things to keep in mind when implementing an exercise program. First and foremost, if you have any known medical condition, please consult a doctor before implementing any exercise program. Your medical doctor should be able to advise you in an appropriate manner.
At the same time, remember most doctors, although very knowledgeable about the human body are not always the most knowledgeable about exercise programs, so you should think about the specifics of exercise in certain terms and find the individual options from a person who understands the actual exercises better than the medical doctor. The doctor may not admit to it, but many are not exercise professionals and are not the best people to ask about specific exercises. They will know the parameters and symptoms of taking the body too far, which is very important to know with your own preexisting medical condition.
Get the proper information, which can help you have proper and realistic expectations. Knowing what to expect will help you maintain higher levels of safety and assurance that you are moving along the path in a safe and healthy way.
For most people though, those who lack preexisting medical conditions that would prohibit or require more specific recommendations before entering into an exercise program, there are certain things to keep in mind to help along the way.
Always keep in mind both intensity and duration, as both are important factors for any aspect of an exercise program. We should exercise three to four days a week and work at a moderate intensity (describe more below).
In respect to aerobic activity, one should enter into aerobic activity for a minimum of 20 minutes to get the extended elevated body temperature desired, which will help our bodies fall into a deeper sleep later in the evening. Examples of aerobic activity are dancing, swimming, walking, jogging, skating, or aerobic dance class (and more). Remember, afternoon and early evening exercise is the best for helping improve the quality of our sleep that night. As you progress, you can extend your duration to 60 minutes, which should be sufficient for any of us. There is really no reason to beyond one hour though, so please do not overextend your exercise time too much. There is simply no need for it, and it can do more damage than good if we are not careful.
The easiest way to understand and measure the appropriate
intensity of is by simply watching our breathing. We should
move the intensity of our aerobic activity to a point where
we can have a conversation with someone, but if we move the
intensity up one more level we will experience an inability
to have a conversation. Or, you should be able to have a
conversation but not sing. Of course, you might not want to
bust our singing in a public health spa, as this would seem
a little wacky and could be dangerous to those around you,
depending on the quality of your singing. Ok…that was a joke.
Another method of finding an appropriate intensity exercising at your "target heart rate" or "aerobic training zone", which is determined by your age. It can be calculate by the following formula: (220 - age) / 60 - 75%. For example, if you are 55, your aerobic training zone is between 99-123 heartbeats per minute. (You can find your heart rate by taking your pulse for 10 seconds and multiple by 6.) You should never exceed your "maximum heart rate", which is 220 minus your age. There is really no reason for you to push yourself beyond your training zone though. Although this is a standard used for most people, health club professionals have told us that this is not always the case and watching the breath and potential breathlessness is the easiest way to monitor your intensity.
Remember, if you feel light headed, dizzy, unyielding breathlessness, irregular or abnormal heart beats, chest pain, a headache, or body chills, please stop exercising. If you continue to have the same symptoms when attempting to do mild to moderate aerobic activity, you should probably contact your healthcare professional to see if there is some 'condition' of which you are unaware. Take care of yourself... and remember it is better to be cautious than go gangbusters with your new exercise program! We can do more damage than good when we do not do the appropriate intensity for our bodies. Of course, that "know yourself" comes back in play here! Please take your time and be good to yourself.
In respect to resistance training or "weight training", there are a lot of resources you can find, including the health club professional or personal trainers. Ask the person who works at the health club if they have any certifications as some of the smaller health clubs do not require it from their personal trainers. Find someone who knows what they are doing and you will be just fine. If they push you too hard, find another personal trainer. Never push it. Since the aerobic activity with the increase in body temperature and then later drop, which can help you sleep, we have included and discussed it more on this page.
Within a few weeks, you should notice the difference in your sleep. Stick to it and if you do not feel like going, then do not worry about missing a day here and there. You might even find a friend to keep you company and the two of you can help each other stay on target with your exercise routine. Besides, it can be a lot of fun working out with a friend or loved one.
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Site References For More Tips
There are even more sleep tips for you throughout our web site. Please feel
free to click on over and read about the topic that interests you. You can
read about all the different sleeping positions and how you can create a
better sleep environment in terms of supporting the body in a more anatomically
correct way, depending on the way you sleep, by clicking the following links.
There are also more helpful tips on the following web pages.
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