Intense workouts before bed do not guarantee a good rest

"For health reasons, young people and adults should do their night exercises as early as possible," says an expert after investigating the effects of sport on the duration and onset of sleep

The scientific community is pretty much in agreement that physical activity promotes more restful rest and deeper sleep at night. However, there were no clear recommendations (due to a lack of evidence) as to whether exercising late in the day was good for falling asleep, and each explanation added to bedtime myths .

Finally, there is a light on doubts at the beginning of the night for those who return from the gym late or go for a run when the streets are lit by streetlights. An analysis of several different investigations carried out by experts from Concordia University (United States) suggests that among adults it is best not to get too close to going to bed after exercise .

Researchers from the Sleep, Cognition and Neuroimagination Laboratory of the North American university have analyzed up to 15 different studies to solve this mystery. In principle, the first conclusion has been that depending on various nuances the results will be different. For example, those who have a profile with a diurnal chronotype (what is popularly called "morning people") will find it more difficult to sleep if they have trained at night because it breaks their habits .

In addition, they observed different results depending on physical activity, its intensity, the time spent and whether it is a sedentary or active person.

Problems due to intensive exercise and night-time activities

However, among so many differences they found a fairly common pattern . "Overall, our analysis has shown that when we exercise more than two hours before going to bed, sleep benefits such as ease of sleep and duration are maintained . In contrast, when exercise is finished less than two hours before lying down, it has a negative impact on sleep ", explained in the presentation of the results Emmanuel Frimpong, co-author of the meta-analysis.

The data is revealing. " Participants took longer to fall asleep and the duration of sleep was shorter ," said the researcher of those who had finished playing sports less than two hours before going to bed .

Added to this finding is another problem related to high-intensity exercise . According to the observations, vigorous activity reduces the REM sleep phase (rapid eye movement phase), regardless of the time that was used for physical exercise at night. This leads to certain sleep repair damage, since it can affect the ability to carry out the cognitive tasks that the brain executes at night . Also, if the quality of sleep is poor it can lead to a tendency to oversleep which causes reduced memory .

On the other hand, the study on the effects of high-intensity exercise on sleep in healthy adults published in the scientific journal Sleep Medicine Reviews reached the following conclusions:

1. High-intensity exercise performed early in the evening (at least two hours before going to sleep) favors the onset of sleep and improves its duration, especially when carried out by sedentary subjects.
2. High-intensity exercise lasting 30 to 60 minutes improves sleep onset and duration.
3. The cycling exercises benefited the participants the most in terms of sleep onset and depth.

4. Expert advice for athletes who want to sleep better

   With these results, researchers from Concordia University recommend athletes or people who have a physically active life to plan their days well if they want to retain all the benefits of sleep. Especially for those on a daytime chronotype, they suggest avoiding physical activities close to nighttime to avoid obstacles to good rest and recovery . In either case, planning a consistent routine will help your body know when it's time to sleep , making it easier to fall asleep and rest.