Should You Work Out Before Bed?
If you want to get a good night's rest—and, after all, who doesn't?—it's better to avoid working out before bed. Here's why.
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Despite the seemingly endless health benefits associated with working out, one should be aware that even fitness should come with limitations. Proper regulation should be implemented when it comes to exercise.
For instance, working out before bedtime is quite controversial. From the proper time to work out to the consequences of late training sessions, we unpack this highly questioned topic.
The Proper Time to Work Out
Right from the start, many fitness experts and physicians suggest that you shouldn’t work out before bed. In fact, workouts are best done during the day—especially if you’re aiming to have a quality sleep during the night. Exercise improves the body’s metabolism throughout the day and it helps you release your energy so that when bedtime rolls around, you can fall asleep peacefully.
There’s always a healthy relationship between sleep and workouts. If done correctly, exercise can bolster your health — it helps prevent various illnesses that could disrupt your sleep. If you want to maintain the circadian rhythm of your body, make sure that you do most of your rigorous activities when the sun is still up.
Consequences Working Out Before Bed
We all know people who want to go the extra mile with their workout routines. For the most part, this shouldn’t be discouraged. What you should avoid is doing, though, is working out during the evening or hours just before bedtime.
Exercise makes your body active. Your system is surged with adrenaline so that you can conquer tough sets and repetitions. On any other occasion, it is a pleasant sensation. But during bedtime, it isn’t. How can you even sleep if you are being pumped with energy?
Aside from this effect, exercise also keeps your mind active. Relaxing, at this point, is not easy anymore. You will find yourself restless throughout the night. In the day, you will feel dizzy and weak. This cycle limits some of the benefits of exercising.
If you are in the mood to break a sweat, make sure that it is done three to four hours before you sleep.
Unique Exceptions
Despite the facts previously mentioned, some people are seemingly able to work out before bed with no ill effects. Some individuals can sleep even though they did their regular workout hours or even minutes before hitting the hay.
Surprisingly, a poll made by the National Sleep Foundation in 2013 suggested that a significant number of people who worked out before their bedtime can sleep better than those who didn’t.
In a sense, it seems the difference in our genetic makeup is a significant sleeping factor.
How to Sleep Better
A myriad of sleeping problems can happen to us. Certain factors cause a person to become sleep deprived. Stress, insomnia, and a variety of sleeping disorders can make your evening rest extremely elusive. Here are a few ways to improve your quality of sleep:
- Get good support pillows. These sleeping amenities release the pressure points of your body.
- Proper sleep hygiene helps. Avoiding alcoholic and highly caffeinated drinks is an easy way to avoid sleep deprivation.
- If snoring is a problem, use a snoring mouthpiece or specialized nasal sprays.
- Tray safe, effective natural sleep aids such as melatonin and valerian.
Let’s Catch Some Zs
As you know, exercising can provide significant health benefits to your body. It’s something that a person should do if he or she wants to live a long, health life. But regulating when and how you work out is important, too.
Just to be safe, make sure to stagger exercise at least a few hours before bedtime. In this way, you will be able to fall asleep and stay asleep without any issues—you don’t want to leave things to chance, after all.
From: The Box
