Most people get around seven or eight hours of sleep each night. There are two different sleeping phases that people go between each night. The first is REM (rapid eye movement) and it is characterized by the eyes moving back and forth rapidly. The brain is extremely active in this phase and dreams occur frequently. In the non REM phase (NREM), there is no eye movement and very little brain activity. The deepest sleep occurs in the NREM phase when the brain is not working. This is also called slow wave sleep. Unfortunately many people have sleeping problems because they are disturbed in the NREM phase of sleep.
About one in ten people suffer from insomnia. If you have trouble falling asleep, wake up in the middle of the night, or wake up too early it can affect your health and mental well being. Insomniacs generally live more sedentary lives than people who have normal sleeping patterns. Lack of physical exercise can lead to a daily rise and fall in body temperature rhythm which has been linked to poor sleeping habits. Exercise causes an extreme spike in body temperature followed by a drop some hours later. This drop in temperature makes it easier for people to fall asleep and sleep through the night. Exercise has been thought by many to be the cure for most sleeping disorders. One study notes that 43% of people who increased their amount of physical activity benefited from a better sleep cycle and felt much better rested in the morning. 30% of people who decreased the amount of exercise they engaged in had worse sleeping patterns. In a 1995, a study on elders concluded that after participating in six months of physical activity such as aerobics and strength training they were sleeping much better.
There is no clear cut answer as to what types of exercise will help us sleep better but some research has suggested that high impact exercises such as cardio or rigorous training promotes a restful sleep. If you are unwilling or unable to participate in high impact exercises, try yoga. It is great for your muscles, will detoxify you, and relax your body and mind. Astronutrition also carries a variety of sleeping aids that can help ease sleeping disorders.
