Relationship between strength training and sleep quality

It pays to look after your sleep. Most adults need about 7 to 8 hours sleep every night. Some require more and some less.

Are you getting enough?

Sleep plays an important role in maintaining neuronal circuitry, signalling and helps maintain overall health and wellbeing. Sleep deprivation disturbs the internal body clock and exerts a negative impact on brain and physiological functions. We have all have periods in our lives where our sleep has been affected due to stresses, worries or any other disturbances. Usually, these reasons pass and our sleep improves. If this does not happen, we fall into chronic sleep depravation and this can have some serious effects.

What is it specifically about strength training that aids sleep quality? Experts today believe sleep and exercise have a bidirectional relationship. In other words, optimising your exercise routine can potentially help you sleep better and getting an adequate amount of sleep may promote healthier physical activity levels during the day. One important naturally occurring hormone, Melatonin, is important in relaxing the body in preparation for bed, whilst suppressing the release of dopamine, a hormone that helps you stay awake. Higher levels of melatonin have been observed during deep cycles of sleep. Research suggests that exercise such as progressive resistance training has an acute and delayed effect on melatonin secretion dependent on the timing of the exercise session ie. completing a strength training regime in the late evening may blunt melatonin levels that are trying to rise in preparation for sleep.