Exercise will help people battling insomnia only if they are consistent with their routine for months, according to new research from Northwestern University.
"If you have insomnia you won't exercise yourself into sleep right away," lead study author Kelly Glazer Baron, a clinical psychologist and director of the behavioral sleep program at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in a news release. "It's a long-term relationship. You have to keep at it and not get discouraged."
The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. It is reportedly the first long-term study that shows the effects of daily exercise does not immediately improve one's sleep patterns. Findings also show people who exercise less when they do not get enough sleep.
The study participants were older women, who currently have the highest prevalence of insomnia, according to the news release. Exercise is the best way to help sleep patterns in an older population because "drugs can cause memory impairment and falls."
However, Baron added she believes the results can apply to men. The key message from the new research is people with sleep disturbances need to have a consistent exercise routine.
"Sleeping poorly doesn't change your aerobic capacity, but it changes people's perception of their exertion," Baron said. "They feel more exhausted."
"This new study shows exercise and sleep affect each other in both directions: regular long-term exercise is good for sleep but poor sleep can also lead to less exercise. So in the end, sleep still trumps everything as far as health is concerned," research associate professor of neurology at Feinberg and senior author Phyllis Zee said in a news release.
According to researchers, people with insomnia have a misconception that exercise will improve their sleep patterns right away. Zee explained the effects of exercise for patients with insomnia are a little more complex.
"Patients with insomnia have a heightened level of brain activity and it takes time to re-establish a more normal level that can facilitate sleep," Zee said. "Rather than medications, which can induce sleep quickly, exercise may be a healthier way to improve sleep because it could address the underlying problem."
