A study shows that if you want a good night’s sleep, it is better to go to the gym than run.
Researchers found that for sleep-deprived people, lifting weights or doing push-ups can provide up to 17 minutes more sleep a night.
It is thought that small tears in your muscles after a strength-training workout may require more sleep to heal properly.
The study looked at 386 overweight or obese people aged 35 to 70 who led sedentary lives and had relatively high blood pressure.
They were divided into four groups, one group not exercising and the other spending three hours a week strength training on gym machines.
A third group did three hours of weekly aerobic work, running on a treadmill or using an exercise bike. The last group did a combination of both types of exercise.
All the participants in the study reported their sleep quality, how long they slept and the amount of time they actually spent in bed.
Among study participants who did not get at least seven hours of sleep when starting an exercise session, those running and cycling or using a cross-trainer slept an average of 23 minutes a night.
But it adds up to 40 extra minutes of sleep for those doing strength training.
A study shows that if you want a good night’s sleep and can give you an extra 17 minutes of sleep per night, it is better to hit the gym than run (File)
People in the resistance exercise and combined exercise groups also spent more of their time falling asleep, while those in the resistance group gave up three minutes earlier than the other groups.
Sleep quality and sleep disturbances improved in all groups, including the group that did not exercise.
Lead researcher Angelique Brelenthin of Iowa State University in the US said aerobic activity is often recommended for insomnia, but little research has been done on the effects of resistance training on sleep.
She said: ‘While both aerobic and resistance exercise are important for overall health, our results suggest that resistance exercise may be better when it comes to achieving better z’s at night.
‘Therefore, if your sleep has worsened significantly over the past two stressful years, incorporate two or more resistance exercise training sessions into your regular exercise routine to improve your sleep along with your general muscle and bone health. Consider doing it.’
The study, presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention conference in Chicago, asked people running and bicycling to do so at a moderate to vigorous intensity.
People in the resistance group had a gym machine at their individual fitness level to lift weights to the point of exhaustion.
Three sets of eight to 16 repetitions were performed on resistance machines to work all the major muscle groups in one session.
These included leg presses, chest presses, pulldowns, leg curls, leg extensions, biceps curls, triceps pushdowns, shoulder presses, abdominal crunches and lower back extensions.
After 12 months, sleep-deprived people in the strength training group saw improvements in 40 minutes of sleep a night, compared to only 17 minutes for those who exercised for both types of exercise.
Experts also suspect the muscles that are forced to grow by exercise and optimize release hormones that improve sleep.
People in the resistance group reported falling asleep an average of three minutes earlier than the other groups.
Someone who goes to bed for eight hours after doing strength-training exercises will spend 20 minutes less awake at night, the results show.
This was based on a 4 percent improvement in wake time reported by the strength-training group.
Sleep quality and sleep disturbances, such as getting up to urinate or being too hot in bed, improved in all groups of people within the study, including the group who did not exercise.
The results are important because sleep deprivation, or poor quality sleep, has been found to increase the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and hardening of the arteries.
Not getting enough sleep is also linked to weight gain, diabetes and inflammation, which can increase the risk of stroke, heart attack or premature death.
