For as long as we can remember, the advice has been to skip the pre-sleep workout. Exercise in the morning, or break a sweat during the day, maybe even go for a run after work—but before bed? You’ll be risking your precious hours of quality sleep. But there’s new research that suggests that may not be entirely true.
“Although physical activity during the day can improve sleep, current sleep guidelines discourage exercise before bed due to exercise-induced increases in heart rate and core body temperature,” says Jen Gale, a sedentary behavior researcher and one of the researchers on new study published in BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine.
The small study has found that a little exercise before bed might be good: They found that 3-minute breaks every half hour for 4 hours before sleep may improve sleep length.
What’s the research saying?
In an October 2018 review and analysis, Sports Medicine determined that vigorous exercise ending within an hour of bedtime was linked with lower total sleep time and a longer time to fall asleep. That means it’s best to avoid strenuous exercise before bed. But what about other types of exercise?
Gale and her team of fellow researchers selected 30 people between ages 18 to 40 who are non-smokers. Every person reported being sedentary for more than five hours during their work day and two hours in the evening. Participants wore an activity tracker for seven days, tracking their daily activity and sleep patterns.
Each person completed two four-hour sessions in a controlled environment on the same day of the week, separated by at least six days. In the first session, participants had to sit for four hours straight. In the second session, they performed 3 minutes of simple bodyweight moves every 30 minutes over the span of four hours. After the sessions were complete, they returned to their normal, real-life environment.
The results showed that after the sessions with activity breaks, participants slept for an extra 27 minutes on average. The study is small and requires more evidence, but researchers say it’s a good indicator that activity before bed shouldn’t necessarily get a bad rap.
“Regardless of the reasons, if performing small bursts of activity in the evening can improve sleep, then getting up to move your body frequently is likely to be good for your health,” Gale says.
What kind of exercise is good to do before bed?
High-intensity exercising like running, burpees, or jumping rope probably aren’t the best choices if it’s almost time to wind down. Instead, short bursts of bodyweight resistance exercise might have benefits, per the study.
The activity breaks in the study had the participants do three 20-second rounds of a few basic bodyweight moves (chair squats, calf raises, and standing knee raises with straight leg hip extensions).
“Our study showed that interrupting evening sitting time, by getting up every 30 minutes to do 3 minutes of exercise, improved sleep duration,” Gale says. “The key is to perform these activity breaks, as a means of breaking up the time you may spend sitting in the evening before you go to bed.”
More activity breaks is always better—at the end of the day (ahem), the key is to frequently get up and move your body.
“You could probably get a similar effect from marching on the spot, dancing around the living room, or incorporating any type of activity that works for you and your household,” Gale says.
Try setting an alarm to get up every 30 minutes, or use TV ad breaks as a reminder to get up and move.
3 exercises to try before bed
These bodyweight moves, demonstrated by Robin Barrett, CPT, of the Ladder app, are similar to the ones the participants did in the study. For potentially better sleep, perform each exercise for 15 to 20 seconds, then repeat twice for a total of 3 rounds.
Calf raise
Calf raises are recommended by experts time and again because calves tend to be undertrained, and they support your entire lower body.
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Stand tall with your feet flat on the ground next to a wall.
Hold on to the wall with one hand, lift the foot closest to the wall off the ground, then push through the ball of your other to elevate your heel.
Lower your heel back to the ground slowly and with control. Complete one side for 10 seconds before switching sides.
Squat
A classic bodyweight move, squats have tons of benefits beyond better sleep, so working them into your routine is always a good idea.
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Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, and keep your toes pointing slightly outward.
Keep your back straight and either hold out your arms straight in front of you, place your hands on your hips, or clasp them together in front of you. (Do whatever feels most comfortable!)
Push your hips back, as if you’re about to sit into a chair (feel free to sit in an actual chair if that’s helpful!). Bend your knees and lower your body, keeping your back straight and making sure your knees are in line with your toes.
Lower yourself as far as your flexibility allows, keeping your weight on your heels and the balls of your feet rather than on your toes.
To stand back up, push through your heels, returning to the starting position.
Lunge
The reverse lunge shown here can be easier on the knees than a forward lunge. Take this one slow and remember you want to keep your heart rate pretty low before bed.
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Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
Take a step back with your right foot, and lower your hips so that your left thigh is parallel to the floor with the left knee directly over your ankle.
Press into your left heel to return to standing.
Repeat on the opposite side.
