Regular exercise cuts insomnia risk – study

EXERCISING twice a week or more significantly cuts the risk of insomnia, according to a long-term study.

People who do regular exercise are 42 per cent less likely to have difficulty falling asleep than those who are inactive, and are 22 per cent less likely to report any symptoms of insomnia.

The research, published in the journal BMJ Open, also found that people who kept exercising in the long term were significantly (55 per cent) more likely to be normal sleepers (six to nine hours a night) than those who did not exercise.

They were also significantly less likely (29 per cent) to be short sleepers (six hours a night or less) and 52 per cent less likely to sleep for a very long time (over nine hours a night).

Even people who had not exercised previously, but who then took up exercise over the study period, were 21 per cent more likely to be normal sleepers than those who were persistently inactive.

For the research, experts examined data from nine European countries involving 4,339 people, around half of whom were women.

Those in the study were asked questions on their exercise levels at the start, then asked again a decade later.

They were also quizzed on insomnia symptoms, such as how often they had difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or waking too early – and how long they slept for on average.

People who exercised two or more times per week, for at least one hour per week, were classed as physically active.

If they were still exercising at this level a decade later, they were classed as persistently active (25 per cent of people), while 37 per cent of people were persistently non-active, 18 per cent became active and 20 per cent became inactive.

Analysis of the data showed that “physically active people have a lower risk of some insomnia symptoms and extreme sleep durations, both long and short”.

However, the researchers, including from Imperial College London and Reykjavik University in Iceland, warned that the benefits could be lost if people stopped exercising.

Huw Edwards, chief executive of ukactive, the UK’s trade body for the physical activity sector, said: “Physical activity has a huge role to play in our physical and mental health, with benefits such as better sleep, reduced stress and anxiety, and improved productivity, social connection and wellbeing.”