Research Reveals One Type Of Exercise That's Even Better For Sleep Than Cardio

Research Reveals One Type Of Exercise That's Even Better For Sleep Than Cardio

Share on: Getting enough activity so your body and mind are exhausted before your head hits the pillow is one of the best ways to assure you can fall asleep at night—and receive decent rest. But, when it comes to sleeping, is one type of exercise better than another?

This was the goal of new research presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology and Prevention, Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health conference. Continue reading to discover the answer.

Examining the effects of various exercises on sleep.

Researchers wanted to see how different types of exercise affected sleep, so they set up one of the largest and longest-running sleep-exercise investigations ever.

A total of 400 adults took part in the study, and they agreed to follow various training plans: some did resistance workouts (weightlifting machines), some did cardio activities (treadmills, bikes, or ellipticals), and some did a combination of the two. Three times a week, the groups were supervised for 60 minutes while conducting the workouts. There was also a control group that did not have access to a supervised exercise program.

Participants' sleep measurements were also tracked over the course of the year-long trial. They self-reported sleep quality, sleep length, how long it took them to fall asleep, and how disturbed they were during the night.

What they found.

At the start of the trial, 42% of participants admitted to sleeping less than seven hours per night. Resistance training outperforms aerobic exercise for improving sleep in these people.

Those who conducted resistance training got 17 minutes longer sleep per night on average towards the conclusion of the study, while those who did aerobic exercise and mixed exercise got no improvement in sleep duration. By the end of the study, participants who did resistance training took slightly less time to fall asleep at night.

"While both aerobic and resistance exercise is important for overall health," study author Angelique Brellenthin, Ph.D., says in a news release, "our results suggest that resistance exercises may be superior when it comes to getting better ZZZ's at night," adding that this can also benefit the heart, which requires adequate rest to stay healthy.

"Consider introducing two or more resistance exercise training sessions into your normal workout program to improve your general muscle and bone health, as well as your sleep," she says if your sleep could be better.

The takeaway.

Any type of movement is beneficial. However, if you could use a little more sleep (or want to fall asleep faster), this research suggests that increasing your resistance exercise may be precisely what your sleep hygiene needs. After your workout, you may relax with a spa-like shower, a sleep-supporting vitamin, and some comfy PJs.