The Best Type of Exercise for Good Sleep (Must Read!)

Boost the quality and quantity of your sleep

If you’re not getting enough sleep, you’re in good company. 

Up to a third of adults say they’re not getting enough sleep (less than seven hours)—and up to half report that they’re not getting enough quality sleep. 

There are all kinds of reasons for this—and most of them come down to lifestyle. 

But today I’m only going to focus on one lifestyle change that’s been proven to boost the quality and quantity of your sleep. 

You may already know that exercise is good for sleep. 

But not all exercise is created equal. A recent study was the first major study to investigate the effect of different types of exercise on sleep, with one simple question in mind: 

What is the best type of exercise for promoting better sleep?  

After 12 months of exercise, one clear winner emerged. 

For this study, 386 people were divided into four different groups: aerobic, resistance, aerobic + resistance, and no exercise. 

The aerobic group exercised on a bike, treadmill, or elliptical, while the weight training group performed a circuit on 12 resistance machines. 

All participants exercised for one hour, three times per week. 

Now, in people who already slept fine, exercise didn’t provide additional benefits. But in those who had trouble sleeping, all types of exercise improved sleep. 

But some types were better than others. 

The placebo group came in fourth, getting an extra 15 minutes of sleep per night. 

Surprisingly, the combined exercise group only fared slightly better, getting an extra 17 minutes of sleep per night. 

The aerobic exercise group came in second, increasing their sleep time by 23 minutes per night. 

But the clear winner by far was the weight training group. They experienced almost DOUBLE that rate, at 40 additional minutes of sleep per night. 

If you’ve ever hit your snooze button and longed for just five more minutes of sleep, you’ll appreciate the difference 40 minutes can make! 

Other measures of sleep improved as well, such as sleep efficiency (the amount of time spent asleep while in bed) and sleep latency (the amount of time it takes to fall asleep). 

The study didn’t investigate why weight training could be so good for sleep, but I have a few ideas. 

One is that weight training stimulates muscle growth — boosting testosterone and growth hormone — which have been linked to better sleep. 

Another could be because weight training causes strains and tears in the muscle, and the body utilizes sleep for repair and recovery. 

Whatever the reason, this study highlights the fact that using all of your body—not just getting your heart rate pumping on a treadmill—is essential for overall health… a good night’s sleep, included.