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Lifting more weights could work wonders for your sleep quality, new study suggests

don't fret. You're more than likely picked up some bad winter slumber habits. But springs here and we're here to help. Here are some ways to improve your sleeping habits First tip Set rigid bed and wake up times. Your brain can only produce 6 to 8 hours of quality sleep. Sleeping in has the potential to cause mood swings, low energy levels and even effect critical thinking according to ink. Going outdoors and exposing yourself to sunlight helps reset your internal clock. The goal is to expose yourself to natural outdoor light for 15 to 60 minutes per day, so you can be in good mental shape. Combat time Mayo Clinic suggests physical activity promotes a good night's rest, however avoided close to bedtime as it may take some time to wind down before you can sleep. Also, be aware of your diet. Too much caffeine or eating right before bedtime will fragment your sleep. It takes a few hours for caffeine toe wear off or to digest food, and will more than likely provide discomfort throughout the night.

Lifting more weights could work wonders for your sleep quality, new study suggests


It’s all too easy to get stuck in a cycle of not being able to fall asleep at night — or struggling to stay asleep — and then feeling groggy the next morning. In fact, 1 in 4 Americans experience insomnia each year and 70 million Americans suffer from some sort of sleep disorder. So, if you’re struggling with sleep issues, you’re definitely not alone. However, the takeaway from a new study in Preventive Medicine Reports says that adding some strength training into your routine during the day can actually help improve your quality of sleep. Researchers looked at over 23,000 adults in Germany, collecting data on their weekly frequency of resistance exercise and sleep quality. They found that any muscle-strengthening done during a typical week was associated with a reduced prevalence of sleep rated as “poor” or “very poor.” These associations remained after adjusting for other factors like high body mass index, chronic disease, age, and smoking.Also, there was no evidence of a dose-dependent relationship, which means more was not necessarily better. Those who did resistance training just once a week had a similar, favorable association in sleep quality to those who did this type of training more often, even those who strength-trained five times a week.“There is strong scientific evidence that exercise is associated with better sleep quality, but most of that evidence is based solely on aerobic exercise,” lead study author Jason Bennie, Ph.D., associate professor in physical activity epidemiology at University of Southern Queensland in Australia, said. “Our study was the first to describe the associations between muscle-strengthening exercise and sleep quality, especially among a large population sample.” One limitation to the study is that the study’s results were based on participants self-reporting the amount of strength training they did, which is much less precise than direct observation. But even if participants in this research were overestimating, the fact is that resistance training on a regular basis still helps in a breadth of ways, including helping you get more, better sleep, according to W. Chris Winter, M.D., president of Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine, and author of The Sleep Solution. “Compared to lighter exercise like a leisurely run, strength training tends to create a bigger surge of adenosine,” he said.Adenosine is a molecule that, when broken down during the digestive process, becomes adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, which is responsible for intercellular energy exchange. When ATP is naturally depleted through activity, it breaks back down into adenosine and at that point, tends to cause drowsiness. Having a larger amount of adenosine through strength training can streamline this process and create more of a drive to sleep, said Winter.Other potential explanations, said Bennie, are enhanced glucose and lipid metabolism, reduced high blood pressure, and fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression — which all are likely to be beneficial for sleep quality. “The bottom line is that exercise impacts sleep, and this study is good reinforcement of that message,” Winter said.

It’s all too easy to get stuck in a cycle of not being able to fall asleep at night — or struggling to stay asleep — and then feeling groggy the next morning. In fact, 1 in 4 Americans experience insomnia each year and 70 million Americans suffer from some sort of sleep disorder. So, if you’re struggling with sleep issues, you’re definitely not alone.

However, the takeaway from a new study in Preventive Medicine Reports says that adding some strength training into your routine during the day can actually help improve your quality of sleep.

Researchers looked at over 23,000 adults in Germany, collecting data on their weekly frequency of resistance exercise and sleep quality. They found that any muscle-strengthening done during a typical week was associated with a reduced prevalence of sleep rated as “poor” or “very poor.” These associations remained after adjusting for other factors like high body mass index, chronic disease, age, and smoking.

Also, there was no evidence of a dose-dependent relationship, which means more was not necessarily better. Those who did resistance training just once a week had a similar, favorable association in sleep quality to those who did this type of training more often, even those who strength-trained five times a week.

“There is strong scientific evidence that exercise is associated with better sleep quality, but most of that evidence is based solely on aerobic exercise,” lead study author Jason Bennie, Ph.D., associate professor in physical activity epidemiology at University of Southern Queensland in Australia, said. Our study was the first to describe the associations between muscle-strengthening exercise and sleep quality, especially among a large population sample.”

One limitation to the study is that the study’s results were based on participants self-reporting the amount of strength training they did, which is much less precise than direct observation.

But even if participants in this research were overestimating, the fact is that resistance training on a regular basis still helps in a breadth of ways, including helping you get more, better sleep, according to W. Chris Winter, M.D., president of Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine, and author of The Sleep Solution.

“Compared to lighter exercise like a leisurely run, strength training tends to create a bigger surge of adenosine,” he said.

Adenosine is a molecule that, when broken down during the digestive process, becomes adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, which is responsible for intercellular energy exchange. When ATP is naturally depleted through activity, it breaks back down into adenosine and at that point, tends to cause drowsiness.

Having a larger amount of adenosine through strength training can streamline this process and create more of a drive to sleep, said Winter.

Other potential explanations, said Bennie, are enhanced glucose and lipid metabolism, reduced high blood pressure, and fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression — which all are likely to be beneficial for sleep quality.

“The bottom line is that exercise impacts sleep, and this study is good reinforcement of that message,” Winter said.


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