A new study has revealed that the nocturnal window in which sleep is affected is actually much greater than previously thought.
This study in the magazine Nature Communicationshows that the practice of physical exercise in the four hours before bedtime can have a Sleep harmful effect.
The University of Monash researchers analyzed International data from 14689 people that were monitored with a Multi-Sensor biometric device for a yearwhich equivalent to Four million nights of information to analyze.
According to the location device – a WHOOP Strap – registered exercise data, I am e cardiovascular activity.
But scientists were not analyzing the impact of any exercise, they were more interested in knowing how intense exercises could have lasting variations of heart rhythm at night.
What they found was a connection between night exercise and delay at the beginning of sleep and less sleep achieved throughout the nightas well as a higher rest heart rate than observed in people who exercised at the beginning of the day.
“Intense exercise at night can maintain the body in a state of high alertwhich is why the public health guidelines advised against the exercise too close to bedtime, ”he said Josh Leotafrom the School of Psychological Sciences at Monash University. “However, the results of controlled laboratory studies are less conclusive, with many to suggest that night exercise does not necessarily disturb sleep“.
“These studies based on small samples and laboratory environmentsand rarely involve exercise sessions that cause substantial cardiometabolic demand in the body, in question the external validity of such results, ”he added.
Previous studies have associated nocturnal exercises with sleep disorders, But the exact period of time varied. In 2021, Concordia University found that the change of useful to harmful was the exercise within two hours after bedtime.
Monash’s team adjusted the data to take into account factors such as age, gender, day of the week, season, general physical condition participants and the way they had slept the night before without night exercise.
Now most of us know that there are lasting metabolic impacts of intensive activities such as long races, high -intensity impact training or even sports training sessions – which often occur at night after work.
These effects include the Increased body temperature and from heart rate and the mental alert state. But the team found that previous estimates of exercise -related disorders may have underestimated the time window to avoid nighttime – within hours.
“Night exercise – particularly involving high levels of cardiovascular effort – may disturb subsequent sleep, rest heart rate and heart rate variability, thus impairing a critical phase of the recovery process,” he said ELISE FACER-CHILDSSenior Author of the Study, Monash University School of Psychological Sciences.
He also added that although it does not prove causality, the results of the team found a consistent relationship between participantseven when the data were adjusted to take into account the above variables.
“Our Innovative and timely discoveries They have significant implications for public health messages on the moment, duration and intensity of exercise and represent a fundamental step in improving the health of the population of the population, ”added Facer-Childs.One in five adults cannot reach seven or more hours of sleep recommended per night“.
Many people exercise at night for various reasons – such as professional and family commitments. And it remains a healthy way to detest and maintain fitness if any other time is prohibitive.
However, researchers suggest that it should be noted that “when” and “what” are fundamental to Benefits for brain health obtained through exercise.
“If the exercise is practically in a period of four hours before bedtime, people can Opt for short and low intensity exerciseslike a light race or swimming, to minimize sleep disturbance and allow the body to calm down, ”said Leota.
And those who like night exercise sessions can also benefit from monitoring your biometric data at night with a tracker, just to see if any sleep problems can be related to night workouts and then adjust the intensity to see if they can be related.
Any exercise is better than any exercise, but scientists claim that the fact that If you are aware of the impact you can have in sleep can help people get the best results to your body in general.
Teresa Oliveira Campos, Zap //
