Exercise to Help You Fall Asleep!

Insomnia is a nightmare for many people today! When most people’s work these days consist of 「using our brains」more than 「using our bodies」, it’s not hard to understand why not able to get to sleep is so prevalent. We sit in front of screens during the day to complete our work tasks, sometimes having to work overtime, spending over 10 hours thinking throughout the day. When it comes time to sleep, all of these stresses and pressures keep us awake. Suffering from insomnia, dragging our tired bodies out of bed the next morning only to repeat the same cycle again in this new day.

A good night’s sleep is crucial for our body to repair itself. If we don’t get the proper rest required, after a long period of time, we risk serious damage to our body and mind. But the pressures to survive are unavoidable. Our working habits must conform to and are influenced by society. If we can’t change the way in which we work, what changes can we make when our bodies can’t get its’ proper rest and counter insomnia?


用運動調節失眠,開始動起來吧!

There are many different causes and ways to counter insomnia, some experts propose dietary treatments, some use sleeping pills or melatonin, others seek hypnosis, white noise etc. But the least used, most accessible and easiest method is to increase the amount of exercise.

The body is a very smart regulating machine. When it’s resources are depleted, it will send out signals to replenish its energy reserves. So while we deplete our energy stores while performing different activities, we need sleep to allow the body time to repair and rejuvenate itself. Due to our work habits, the waking hours don’t allow our bodies time for enough exercise and our energy is not depleted which makes it harder to sleep at night. Coupled with our daily pressures, gradually this will lead to problems such as insomnia or very shallow sleep. The best way to counter this is to do some light exercises during our waking hours to increase our depletion of energy stores. This will allow the body to send signals that we need to rest, enhance sleepiness and decrease the onset of insomnia.

The National Sleep Foundation has conducted extensive research and found that moderate and periodic exercise (walking, jogging) can shorten the time it requires to fall asleep and reduce REM (Rapid Eye Movement) state of the sleep cycle (shallow sleep, dreaming stage). This will increase the deep sleep portion of sleep where the body repairs itself and improve the quality of sleep.

Regarding REM and the sleep cycle, please refer to the article:(For more details please see: The key to sleep quality discount: scholars confirm is that small glass of….)

用運動調節失眠,少坐多站增加活動量

Sitting at your desk is already the way most people are used to working. But not only will sitting for prolonged periods affect your health, it directly affects our sleep! The National Foundation of Sleep found in their 2013 survey that respondents who sat less than 8 hours a day indicated they had better quality of sleep than those that sat for over 8 hours a day. (sat less than 8 hours 22~25% vs. more than 8 hours 12~15%)

久坐與睡眠品質之間的關係-睡眠基金會市調

If you also need to sit for long periods, use your cell phone to remind you for every 30 minutes of work to stand up and walk around for 5 minutes. This may have a positive impact on your health and sleep.

用運動調節失眠,但運動的時間要挑對

Moderate exercise can improve health and sleep quality, but exercise will also increase body temperature which will slowly decrease over six hours after exercising. Fluctuations in body temperature will affect the quality of sleep. Elevated temperatures keep the body alert and active, while lower body temperatures help induce sleep. If routine dictates exercising at night, it’s recommended that you finish exercising 3 hours before going to sleep. This will allow the body enough time to decrease it’s temperature and will not affect sleep.

In summary, allow the body to deplete it’s energy during the day so that you can sleep better at night. Artificer’s brand ambassador Hsu Shu-ching will wear our sports necklace and bracelets to enhance her body’s coordination and exhaust herself during weightlifting training. Then will sleep right after training. The included anion benefits in the product will also help to regulate autonomic nervous system functioning which may also aid in sleep quality thus allowing the body enough rest so she’s ready for tomorrow’s training routine.

Start with exercise to alleviate insomnia. At the same time you can consider wearing sports necklaces or bracelets to enhance your exercise sessions. This will deplete your bodily resources and allow the body to naturally send signals to rest that will welcome better quality sleep.


References:
.National Sleep Foundation-How does exercise affect sleep duration and quality
References:https://sleepfoundation.org/ask-the-expert/how-does-exercise-affect-sleep-duration-and-quality
.National Sleep Foundation-How does exercise help those chronic insomnia
References:https://sleepfoundation.org/ask-the-expert/how-does-exercise-help-those-chronic-insomnia
.National Sleep Foundation-Finds exercise key to good sleep
References:https://sleepfoundation.org/media-center/national-sleep-foundation-poll-finds-exercise-key
.Sleepio – Tired, but can’t sleep
References:https://www.sleepio.com/articles/cant-sleep/tired-but-cant-sleep/