In the lead up to Christmas, our daily lives often become more hectic. Our time is occupied by all those extra things we need to do before Christmas and our holidays, and as we meet with friends and family that we haven’t seen in a while. Our quality of sleep and our exercise routines are some of the first things to suffer during this busy time of the year.
Sleep is a powerful tool that many of us take for granted!
Quality sleep offers us healing while we rest, while too little sleep can slow recovery time from injury, and adversely affect our overall physical and mental health.
If we don’t get quality sleep for 7 to 9 hours each night, we can feel the immediate effects. Good quality sleep for 8 hours can improve the effects of ageing, improve memory, assist recovery from injuries and optimise wellbeing.
The National Sleep Foundation of Australia recommends that adults between the ages 18-64 should get 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night, and people 65 and over, 7 to 8 hours. Despite this advice, 45% of Australians do not get the recommended hours of sleep.
We can improve the quality and quantity of sleep by participating in consistent physical exercise. Adequate sleep, daily exercise and a nutritious diet are the cornerstones of a healthy life. While scientists are still discovering more reasons why sleep is beneficial and what constitutes as quality sleep, it is evident that exercise benefits sleep quality in children and adults of all ages. Time spent in slow-wave patterns of sleep, or deep sleep, is important for body repair and maintenance. Exercise can help to improve the duration of sleep and in turn, helps to moderate our high intensity and busy lives. [1] So, as we head into the busy festive season, try and get a little extra sleep and keep up with your exercise routine.
The video will give you two simple ways to increase your daily activity levels, which can help improve your sleep.
Reference List
1. (Kelley, G. A. and K. S. Kelley (2017). “Exercise and sleep: a systematic review of previous meta-analyses.” Journal of Evidence Based Medicine 10(1): 26-36.) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jebm.12236
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