There are some logical things we know to be true: working out is tiring.
And being tired helps you fall asleep. But exercise before bed can sometimes have the opposite effect. I have personal experience with this: At one point I was attending a kickboxing class after work at least two nights a week. They were the kind of sessions where you were gasping, willing the seconds to tick by so you could stop and rest. I was all showered and changed by 8:30 p.m. and tucked into bed by 11:30 p.m., where I’d lie wide awake, humming with unwanted energy.
The relationship between exercise and sleep is a complicated one, so I consulted experts to see what they have to say about the best time to exercise before bed. Professor Kevin Morgan founded the Loughborough University Clinical Sleep Research Unit 20 years ago and has made sleep the focus of his work. He says many elite athletes are not experiencing the deep slumber you would imagine.
“Athletes sleep badly, elite athletes sleep worst of all, their bodies ache, their muscles twitch, they’re kind of wired people anyway,” Morgan says. “The route to good sleep is not to train like an elite athlete.”
The guidance around when to exercise before bed depends on two factors; the intensity and regularity of your workout.
