A new way to improve your sleep quality: An evening exercise break

Dasgupta said the approach “is particularly useful for people whose daily lives involve a lot of sitting, offering an easy way to combat sedentary habits without having to make major adjustments.”

Gayle and her team are currently conducting a follow-up pilot study to explore the question of how to best support people to take regular, appropriate sleep-improving activity breaks at night in real-world settings.

Resistance training, also known as strength training, is exercise that involves contracting muscles against an external resistance. The resistance can come from within yourself. body weight, Free weightsmachine or resistance bands.

Common strength training exercises include push-ups, squats, and weightlifting. These exercises are designed to work against a force to improve muscle strength and endurance.

Dasgupta said the study used “simple and practical” strength training that most people can do. He highlighted other health benefits beyond improved sleep, adding that strength training can improve quality of life and help people maintain independence as they age.

Below are the three specific exercises used in the study, along with a set of other comparable alternative exercises for added variety: Based on the research, any similar light to moderate resistance exercises should work.

Important Note: Consult your physician before beginning this or any new exercise program. As always, listen to your body and adjust the intensity and duration as needed to find what works best for you.

Study Practice:

• Chair squats: Stand up from a seated position without using your hands, then sit down again and repeat for 20 seconds.

• Calf raises: Stand up on your toes, then lower back down, and repeat for 20 seconds.

• Standing Knee Raises and Straight Legs Hip Extensions: Alternate raising your knees toward your chest, then straightening your legs behind you, for 20 seconds each. Use a chair back or wall for support if needed.

Alternative Exercises:

• March in place: Alternate raising your knees to hip height while swinging your arms, then repeat for 20 seconds.

• Wall push-ups: Stand facing a wall with your arms straight and your hands on the wall at shoulder height, palms down. Do push-ups against the wall for 20 seconds.

• Side leg raises: Stand with your feet hip-width apart and raise one leg to the side, then lower it. Repeat for 10 seconds on each side for a total of 20 seconds. If you need help maintaining balance, hold onto the back of a chair or a wall for support.

Repeat one set, or three variations, of the above exercises three times, 30 minutes apart, for a total of three minutes over four hours in the evening. Start these breaks around 4 or 5 pm and end at least an hour before your planned bedtime to allow your body to wind down and prepare for rest. That adds up to 24 minutes of exercise each night.

Sitting for long periods of time, especially in the evening, has been shown to have adverse effects on health. Increased risk of heart disease and diabetesIncorporating short bouts of activity can help break up sitting time and potentially reduce some of these risks.

Beyond improving sleep, the findings suggest that an evening activity break may also have a positive impact on overall health by improving postprandial metabolism (i.e. how your body processes the nutrients you ingest) and reducing the risk of cardiometabolic disease. Gayle cited this finding as one of the study's main outcomes, saying that breaking up evening sitting time could improve health in “a variety of ways.” “The key is to get up and move around frequently,” he added.

Dasgupta agreed, saying that despite the small size of the study, the results were “very promising” and drew valuable conclusions.

“Adding a short, easy, light resistance exercise break to your evening routine could be a simple way to improve your sleep and health,” he said.

So why not give it a try tonight? Taking a few short exercise breaks might just improve the quality of your sleep.

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