Planning your Workouts to Benefit Your Sleep Cycle
Most of us understand that relationships need balance in order to thrive-- Yin balances with yang, light balances with dark, masculine balances with feminine.
Exercise and sleep have a similar relationship, with studies showing a vital relationship between the two.
Research guides top professional athletes and sports teams to prioritize sleep as part of their training regimen, recognizing the connection between sleep and performance, injury prevention, and muscle recovery.
But, what about the other side of the pendulum? Many studies have shown evidence that adding a routine exercise program to your life to be as effective as pharmaceutical sleep medications and CPAP machines.
So, how do you begin to implement an exercise routine that benefits a healthy sleep cycle? Here is our best advice, guided by experience, research, and, of course, intuition.
1. TIMING: Everyone's schedule is different, but, if possible, we recommend completing your workout at least 1-1.5 hours before you intend to sleep, particularly if you are doing any type of high intensity training. We see vast benefits in early morning training (especially outdoors), but ONLY if it does not come at the cost of a quality night of sleep.
2. TYPE: Research has yet to sufficiently analyze how different exercise types differ in their benefits for sleep, but I like to program client programs in a way that can suit the time of day they train with me (and their energy that day, of course).
In early morning sessions (typically between 5-7am, depending on the time of year), I start a bit slower to really wake up the joints, then allow for their specific session (tailored to that individual on that day), and then end the session with exercises and breathing cues that are meant to energize them for the rest of the day.
In late morning sessions, I may start a little peppier, and will either end with an energizing flow, or a restorative flow/savasana, depending on what they have after seeing me (e.g. a work event vs. nap time with their kids).
In evening sessions, especially late evening sessions, I pay particular attention to how I end sessions, making sure the cooldown incorporates parasympathetic breathing exercises and restorative movements for relaxation.
Coaching cues change from ideas like setting intentions for the day in morning sessions to finding safety and solitude in the present moment (in the evening).
3. BREAKING THE CYCLE: If your sleep is poor and you have a busy schedule, how do you even find the time and energy to exercise?
Starting small with finding exercise that energizes you is always at the top of the list; but, the absolute best way I've found is by changing the way we view exercise. If you feel like dedicating a chunk of time directly to exercise won't serve you right now, you can still add movement into your daily practice.
Balance on 1 foot while you brush your teeth, march with high knees as you walk to the restroom, dance in the kitchen while you prepare dinner. Breath deeply in a way that expands your rib cage in 360 degrees on the inhale. It's more about getting those feel-good hormones and that blood circulating than anything!
How do you incorporate exercise and sleep into your day?