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Aerobic exercise gives better sleep in overweight men, says study
Posted on: 08/Apr/2016 10:04:26 AM
A new study conducted by researchers in Finland has said that overweight men who have chronic insomnia fall asleep more easily and quickly after a six month aerobic program.
According to experts at the Centre for Affective, Stress and Sleep Disorders at the University of Basel, 40 to 80 percent of overweight and obese men are affected by insomnia. They say, Regular aerobic exercise training reduces sedentary time, reduces appetite, improves cardiovascular performance and increases self-esteem and self-efficacy. It also increases sleep need for recovering and improving body tissues such as muscles, tendons, and organs related to respiration and blood flow, and it improves mood.
For the study, 45 men between the ages of 30 and 65 participated. Almost all of them were obese or overweight. They had had at least 3 months of insomnia symptoms. These included difficulty falling asleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, early-morning awakenings or non restorative sleep. Half of the group were randomly selected to attend aerobic exercises sessions for six months. These included one to five sessions per week of 30 to 60 minutes with a trainer. Fitness levels were assessed before the study began, and this was the basis of the number of sessions and intensity of exercise. The other half maintained their usual lifestyles. Participants progress was measured using bed sensors, sleep diaries, questionnaires, activity and diet diaries and body measurements.
Results after six months showed that the group that exercised took less time to fall asleep and had difficult falling asleep less often that the other group. The participants of the exercise group also said that they woke up fewer times in the night, had a more efficient sleep and better sleep quality.
A researcher at the University of Pittsburgh Sleep and Chronobiology Centre said, Exercise may help dampen the mental and physical “hyper arousal” that seems to be a common feature in insomnia, with feelings of persistently elevated heart rate, mind racing and being unable to turn off your brain. Such regular aerobic exercise training is also suitable for women and also for those who are not overweight. People exercising regularly improve their self-control and self-discipline, which in turn has benefits for a general healthier lifestyle. It seems that endurance training such as jogging, swimming or dancing for at least 30 minutes per day for three to five days per week has the highest impact. People who take medications to treat insomnia do not learn anything about self-control, self-esteem and self-efficacy.
The best option for insomnia really seems to be behavioural sleep therapy, typically delivered as cognitive behavioural therapy. It’s a package of therapies delivered by a trained professional that has been shown to be just as effective as hypnotics in the short term and much more effective in the long term. A long-term exercise regimen would probably be more effective than hypnotic medications, but a single exercise session may not be as effective as a pill. But these pills carry so many side effects (including more and more links to mortality), that I would recommend exercise over hypnotics regardless of effectiveness.
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