Just 10 Minutes of Daily Exercise May Help You Sleep More Deeply

Getting better sleep may depend not only on how much you exercise but on how often you move. That is the finding of researchers at the University of Texas at Austin. They report that people who were active more often spent more time in the deep, restful stages of sleep, which help the body and brain recover and support mood and mental health.

The study was published in the Journal of Physical Activity & Health. It used information from University of Texas students who wore Fitbit devices for several months. Earlier research mostly looked at how much time people spend exercising. These researchers asked a different question: does the number of days someone exercises change how well they sleep?

"We wanted to know whether it matters if someone spreads out their exercise over the week versus doing it all at once, like a 'weekend warrior,'" said Benjamin Baird, a research assistant professor of psychology. "And for sleep health, frequency does seem to matter."

The results build on earlier work linking physical activity with non-REM sleep, a stage that includes deep sleep. Chris Corral, who co-led the study, explained that deep sleep is especially important in the early hours of the night, when the body does much of its work to recover from the day. Those who moved more often logged more time in these valuable stages of sleep. Baird said that is exactly what you want, because better sleep means better brain health and may lower the risk of chronic disease and depression.

One encouraging finding was how little exercise seemed to be needed. Among the young adults in the study, just 10 minutes a day of moderate to vigorous activity was linked to better sleep. The researchers say that means breathing harder than usual but still being able to hold a conversation. On a scale of 1 to 10, it would feel like about a 6.

Gentler movement helped too. Regular walking and taking breaks from sitting to stand up were also linked to healthier sleep and a better mood.