Humans require enough good-quality sleep to sustain both their physical and mental health. Shreds of evidence have shown adequate; high-quality sleep could help in treating disorders such as dementia, mental disease, as well as metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Conversely, serious health issues can result from sleep disorders like insomnia, narcolepsy, and excessive sleepiness, which are all quite common worldwide.

A study published in Scientific Reports conducted a comprehensive investigation among middle-aged Japanese people aged 40 to 64 to analyze the association between physical activities and sleep more thoroughly.

An isotemporal substitution approach was used by the researchers to calculate the impact of swapping one activity type for another for the same period of time. They added 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity instead of sedentary behaviour or light exercise in the participants′ schedules.

The subjects′ level of physical activity was tracked for seven days straight by an accelerometer. The participants′ rest and sleep quality was then evaluated using a questionnaire.

Results showed that sleep quality was enhanced when sedentary behaviour was replaced with moderate-to-intense exercise. More interestingly, this relationship was solely observed in females. More studies are, however, required to understand why these gender-based dissimilarities occur.

In conclusion, this study′s results add to the existing evidence that has already been done to show empirically how vital physical activity is for promoting good quality sleep. These studies ought to be a good starting point for more investigation into sleep disorders prevention.

(Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/health/moderate-exercise-encourages-restful-sleep-research-101675251771861.html)