More Movement = Better Sleep

Our sleep quality is vital for overall health. If our sleep is compromised, our health is compromised. Many factors can impact rest, whether it’s an upcoming stressful event weighing heavily on us, a pet waking us up throughout the night, a noise outside the home, sickness, etc. Research has found that one particular factor can be insufficient movement in our day!

Living a sedentary lifestyle can mean poor health. Aside from our body not getting the exercise it needs to stay healthy, not exerting enough energy can mean an inability to fall and stay asleep. An estimated 50-70 million adults in the USA have a sleep disorder. Insomnia is the most prevalent among them. That’s a lot of people not getting rest - something the body was designed to do naturally! Generally, people don’t want to rely on pharmacological answers that have nasty side effects or hurt their finances.

We want to look for more natural approaches, which makes sense since the human body was created with a built-in ability to sleep. Something is just inhibiting that. Studies have found implementing more movement during the day can help our body get more meaningful rest at night. Whether it’s an exercise regimen or as simple as walking, more activity can improve our health!

Koohsari, M. J., Yasunaga, A., McCormack, G. R., Shibata, A., Ishii, K., Liao, Y., Nagai, Y., & Oka, K. (2023). Sedentary behaviour and sleep quality. Scientific Reports, 13(1). [Sedentary behaviour and sleep quality] (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-27882-z "")