Exercise has a lot of benefits for the body. It burns fat, helps maintain healthy living patterns, and improves your mood while reducing your stress levels. And--if you do it properly--exercise can also help you sleep better when you lay your head down on that pillow.

Timing is Critical for Sound Sleep

Going to the gym is supposed to exercise your body and tire you out. But actually it's not as simple as that. In order to get the full benefits of rigorous exercise and a relaxing rest, you have to time your workouts versus your sleep schedule. 

When to Exercise to Optimize Your Sleep

As anyone in the middle of a long run or a tiring aerobics class could tell you, your body temperature rises when you exercise. When you work out for at least 20 or 30 minutes your body temperature will rise by several degrees. This increase in temperature can last for as long as five hours. While this is good for your body, it's bad for your sleep schedule because one of the triggers that tells you it's time to nod off is a lowering body temperature.

What does all that mean? Well it definitely doesn't mean you should skip exercising: you need to exercise regularly in order to get all the health and mental benefits of a good workout. What it does mean is that you should try to schedule trips to the gym for several hours before you go to sleep--five or six hours before you lie down, ideally.

Regular Scheduling Is Key

It can be hard to balance your exercise and sleep needs, particularly if your life doesn't run on a set schedule. Perhaps you work varying or nightime shifts, or maybe your sleep schedule is determined by the people you take care of.

We recommend trying to get some exercise in the morning, right at the start of your day, if possible. That way you can wake up your body and mind bright and early, benefit from those mood-improving endorphins all day, and then be ready to snooze at night! 

It's also important to make sure that you sleep on the same, set schedule. A nightime routine and a consistent bedtime/alarm time makes sure that you are getting all the hours of sleep you need. Plus it makes it easier to fall asleep at night because your body establishes routine circadian rythms.

When do you prefer to exercise? Do you notice a change in your sleep quality when you work out? Let us know in the comments! 

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Photo Credit: Timothy Takemoto