AGI – A run a day could help chase the “bogeyman” out of your dreams. This is according to a study from the University of Texas which found that when people do at least 60 minutes of physical activity during the day, they sleep better at night.
Additionally, exercise reduced the amount of time people spent in the dreaming stage of sleep, REM. The findings were published in early March in the journal Scientific Reports. In the research, the type of exercise varied from intense workouts such as running and cycling to low-intensity workouts, such as walking or doing household chores. All activities that increased participants’ heart rate counted toward daily exercise goals.
Previous studies have shown that physical activity can improve sleep quality and reduce time spent in REM sleep. To better investigate the role of exercise in sleep, the scientists asked 82 participants to wear Fitbits to capture details about their sleep quality and duration of physical activity over a six-month period. Using heart rate and body movement data, the researchers determined when the participants went through different sleep stages each night and how much exercise they did each day.
Each sleep stage is characterized by physiological changes in heart rate and brain waves. In this case, the scientists monitored the participants’ heart rates to determine when they entered different sleep stages. In general, your heart rate slows during the early stages of sleep, but picks up at a faster rate during REM sleep.
Every night the human body goes through five different stages of sleep, which start light and get progressively deeper. The last phase of sleep, REM, is when we dream. Each stage is characterized by physiological changes in heart rate and brain waves, which can be measured by scientists. There are five different stages of sleep, but they can also be divided into two categories: REM sleep and non-REM sleep.
Participants who exercised spent less time in REM sleep. The researchers found that, on days when participants exercised, they spent less time in REM sleep, but more time in the deep sleep stages that precede REM. This deep sleep phase is thought to be when the body recharges most from the day.
According to the NIH, it is the stage in which the body repairs and recreates tissues, builds bones and muscles, and strengthens the immune system. This may be why participants reported being more satisfied with the quality of their sleep the night after exercise. Participants reported feeling more energetic and less stressed and sad in the morning after an exercise session.
Using the Fitbit allowed researchers to observe participants in their natural environment, rather than in a laboratory for an extended period of time.
The scientists used the Fitbit’s heart rate tracking feature to determine the participants’ activity level. Typically, when psychologists study sleep patterns, participants must remain under observation overnight in a laboratory, which can be stressful and disrupt the quality of sleep. Additionally, due to the costs associated with this setting, most studies of this type last only a few nights.
“A lot can be learned from laboratory studies, but obviously there are limitations in studying the sleep patterns of individual participants in a single night,” said Benjamin Baird, co-author of the study. “You can use this device to study all sorts of data about sleep architecture in relation to lifestyle, mood and mood disorders, in the field and not in the laboratory, which was previously thought not possible” , added David Schnyer, also a co-author of the work.
