Intense workouts before bedtime won't guarantee a good night's rest, new research shows
Evening exercise is better for uninterrupted sleep

Date:
September 28, 2021
Source:
Concordia University
Summary:
A new meta-analysis assessed data from 15 published studies to
see how a single session of intense exercise affects young and
middle-aged healthy adults in the hours prior to bedtime. And
while no two bodies are the same, the researchers did find that
the combination of factors would interact to enhance or modulate
the effects of exercise on sleep.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Exercise is often associated positively with a good night's sleep. But
if done at certain times of day, or shortly before bedtime, it can also
alter how we sleep. And yet despite years of study, there is still much
we do not know about how the two are linked.


==========================================================================
A new meta-analysis by Concordia researchers published in the journal
Sleep Medicine Reviews assessed data from 15 published studies to see
how a single session of intense exercise affects young and middle-aged
healthy adults in the hours prior to bedtime.

And while no two bodies are the same, the researchers did find that the combination of factors would interact to enhance or modulate the effects
of exercise on sleep.

"When we reviewed the literature on this work, we found that there were a
lot of mixed results," says Melodee Mograss, a cognitive neuropsychologist
and researcher at the PERFORM Sleep Lab. "Some depended on the time
of exercise, others on the fitness level of a study's participants,
or even the type of exercise." Timing is (almost) everything Emmanuel Frimpong, a postdoctoral fellow at the Sleep, Cognition and Neuroimaging
Lab and the study's lead author, says their principal goal was to assess whether high-intensity exercise affected sleep afterwards and to see
which factors might influence that sleep.



==========================================================================
The researchers combined data from the 15 studies and ran a statistical analysis that examined variables such as the timing of exercise --
early evening or late evening -- and the hours between the cessation of exercise and bedtime -- less than two hours, around two hours, and two
to four hours.

Additional variables included the fitness level of the participants
(sedentary or physically active), the threshold intensity and the
duration of the exercises. They also analyzed how specific types of
exercise influenced sleep.

"Overall, our analysis showed that when exercise ended two hours before bedtime, there were sleep benefits, including the promotion of sleep
onset and increased sleep duration," says Frimpong.

"On the other hand, when exercise ended less than two hours before
bedtime, sleep was negatively impacted. It took longer for participants
to fall asleep and sleep duration decreased." Further analysis provided
the following results:
* Early evening high-intensity exercise promoted sleep onset and
improved
sleep duration, especially when performed by sedentary subjects.

* High-intensity exercise performed between 30 and 60 minutes also
improved
onset and duration.

* Cycling exercises were found to benefit participants most in
terms of
onset and deep sleep.

* However, high intensity exercise, regardless of timing, contributed
to a
slight decrease in the rapid-eye-movement (REM) stage of sleep,
the sleep stage which is commonly associated with dreaming
experiences. Studies suggests that decreases in REM sleep can
impact cognitive tasks negatively if the information is complex
and emotionally stimulating but not if the information is easy
or neutral.

Different effects for early risers and night owls


========================================================================== "Based on our review, for healthy, young and middle-aged adults with
no history of sleep disorders, evening exercises should be performed in
the early evening if possible," concludes Frimpong.

"Individuals should also keep to a consistent exercise schedule,
as exercising at different times of the evening could cause sleep
disturbances. Individuals should also consider whether they are morning
people or evening people. High intensity exercise performed late in the
evening can result in sleep disturbance for morning-type people.

"And lastly, sleep hygiene strategies should also be carried out, such as taking a shower between the cessation of exercise and bedtime and avoiding eating heavy meals or drinking a lot of water before going to bed."
Masters student Tehila Zvionow and Thien Thanh Dang-Vu, professor in the Department of Psychology and the Concordia University Research Chair in
Sleep, Neuroimaging and Cognitive Health also contributed to the paper.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Concordia_University. Original written
by Patrick Lejtenyi. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Emmanuel Frimpong, Melodee Mograss, Tehila Zvionow, Thien Thanh
Dang-Vu.

The effects of evening high-intensity exercise on sleep in healthy
adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Medicine
Reviews, 2021; 60: 101535 DOI: 10.1016/j.smrv.2021.101535 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210928121330.htm

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