Move It Monday – Fall Asleep Faster

Wish you could fall asleep faster?

I think most of us intuitively know that if we exercise during the day we’ll sleep better at night. After all, it is the premise behind getting the kids to play outside all afternoon, right? What we have always intuitively known and see anecdotally is now backed up by science.

For every hour of sedentary activity, the amount of time it takes kids to fall asleep increases by 3 minutes. That average of 5 hours that American watch TV every day (a number that absolutely ASTOUNDS me, BTW) is an extra 15 minutes to fall asleep. Here is where it gets really interesting….  In the kids studied, if they fell asleep 10 minutes sooner, they slept an hour longer. 20 minutes sooner, 2 hours longer. So, suddenly a couple of hours of play time — which doesn’t have to be anything crazy, just not plopped in front of the TV — gives you an extra hour or two to sleep, clean the house, call your best friend, get a workout in. Doesn’t that sound awesome?

Adults have similar benefits

Just 30-40 minutes of moderate intensity exercises (which was defined by the study as a brisk walk) each day can significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to fall asleep, and improve the overall quality of sleep. In the study linked to above, the participants fell asleep 11 minutes faster and slept 42 minutes longer. Suddenly, that 30-minute walk has bought you almost an extra hour of sleep. And, if you are in the large portion of the population that gets less than the healthy minimum of 7 hours a night, this is a huge win.

And with that, I’m off for a brisk walk with my pup. Daylight savings confuses my body for several days, so I need whatever help I can get!

P.S. Is it just me, or isn’t “sedentary activity,” by definition, a bit of a misnomer? If you are sedentary, you aren’t moving, which is then NOT an activity.

Tweet