Health
Improve your sleep with this specific exercise, new study says
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Exercise has proven benefits in all areas of physical and mental health, and that includes sleep quality.
One specific type of exercise — strength training — has been linked to insomnia prevention in older adults, according to a new study.
Researchers analyzed data from 25 randomized trials that measured the effects of physical exercise on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), which is a questionnaire that assesses respondents’ sleep quality over a one-month period.
The studies included 2,170 people who were 60 or older.
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Strength training — “exercises that increase muscle strength by making muscles work against a weight or force and using anaerobic metabolism, such as lifting weights, arm curls, wall push-ups and resistance” — were found to have the biggest positive effect on sleep, raising sleep scores by 5.75 points.
One specific type of exercise — strength training — has been linked to insomnia prevention in older adults, according to a new study. (iStock)
In comparison, aerobic (cardio) — such as running, jogging, cycling, dancing, hiking, swimming, gardening and brisk walking — improved sleep scores by 3.76 points.
Combination exercise (a mix of aerobic, strengthening, balance and flexibility exercises) only boosted scores by 2.54 points.
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“Exercise that strengthens muscles, rather than aerobic or combination exercises, is the most effective way to enhance sleep quality,” the researchers concluded.
Sleep quality has been shown to decline with age, the study noted.
Between 30% and 48% of seniors complain of sleepiness, while 12% to 20% suffer from insomnia.
“Exercise that strengthens muscles, rather than aerobic or combination exercises, is the most effective way to enhance sleep quality.”
Lorna Kleidman, a certified personal trainer and founder of LornaFit in New York, agrees that strength training can improve sleep.
“I’ve seen it firsthand with my midlife female clients, who previously had trouble sleeping because of hormonal changes,” Kleidman, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
The physical exertion helps the body naturally wind down, leading to deeper, more restorative sleep, one expert said. (iStock)
“Resistance training improves insomnia because it helps regulate the circadian rhythm, the sleep/wake cycle,” she went on. “Sleep quality is enhanced by reducing stress hormones and promoting the release of fatigue-inducing adenosine.”
The physical exertion also helps the body naturally wind down, leading to deeper, more restorative sleep, Kleidman added.
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Certified personal trainer Regis Pagett, the founder and owner of R Personal Fitness in New York City, agreed that a 30-minute moderate-intensity strength training workout can show an improvement in sleep that same night.
“Strength training on a regular basis requires your body to need higher quality rest in order to recover,” the expert, who also was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
Between 30% and 48% of seniors complain of sleepiness, while 12% to 20% suffer from insomnia. (iStock)
“It helps you to regulate your body temperature, have a better resting heart rate, and to fall into a deeper sleep, faster.”
Improved sleep quality, reduced daytime sleepiness and lower severity of sleep apnea are all benefits, according to Pagett.
Strength training recommendations
The American Heart Association recommends that adults strive for a minimum of two strength training sessions per week.
“In order to maximize the benefits, I personally recommend that people look to incorporate strength training three to four times a week,” Pagett advised.
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Kleidman recommends completing squats, deadlifts, lunges, pressing, pulling and rotation, with two to three sets of all movements.
“Add a few minutes of HIIT (high-intensity interval training) and you’ve got a thorough session for strength, bone health and fat-burning,” she said.
The American Heart Association recommends that adults strive for a minimum of two strength training sessions per week. (iStock)
Strength training becomes more important with age, both experts agreed.
“Resistance training is the first thing women should think of when they plan their workout sessions,” said Kleidman.
“It’s imperative to maintain the muscle we lose because of declining estrogen, along with maintaining bone mass and keeping our metabolism stoked.”
Men also need to maintain muscle that can be lost with declining testosterone, Kleidman added.
“I also recommend eating plenty of protein-focused meals throughout the day, with the biggest intakes coming at breakfast and directly after exercise,” one expert said. (iStock)
Pagett pointed to previous studies that show around 30% of adults over 70 have trouble walking, getting out of a chair or climbing steps.
“These trends in physical limitation are directly linked to higher rates of falls, chronic disease, nursing home admission and mortality,” he said.
“Resistance training improves insomnia because it helps regulate the circadian rhythm.”
The timing of exercise matters as well, Pagett noted.
“For one to two hours after exercise, your body releases endorphins that give you a kick of adrenaline that can elevate your energy levels, so I recommend trying to exercise at least three hours before you intend to sleep,” he advised.
The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults get between seven and nine hours of sleep each night. (iStock )
“I also recommend eating plenty of protein-focused meals throughout the day, with the biggest intakes coming at breakfast and directly after exercise,” Pagett said.
“This helps to minimize soreness and will help aid in your recovery.”
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The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults get between seven and nine hours of sleep each night.
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A new report by the American Heart Association (AHA) included some troubling predictions for the future of women’s health.
The forecast, published in the journal Circulation on Wednesday, projected increases in various comorbidities in American females by 2050.
More than 59% of women were predicted to have high blood pressure, up from less than 49% currently.
The review also projected that more than 25% of women will have diabetes, compared to about 15% today, and more than 61% will have obesity, compared to 44% currently.
As a result of these risk factors, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7%.
The prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke in women is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7% by 2050. (iStock)
Not all trends were negative, as unhealthy cholesterol prevalence is expected to drop to about 22% from more than 42% today, the report stated.
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Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, a cardiologist and founder of Step One Foods in Minnesota, commented on these “jarring findings.”
“The fact that on our current trajectory, cardiometabolic disease is projected to explode in women within one generation should be a huge wake-up call,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“Hypertension, diabetes, obesity — these are all major risk factors for heart disease, and we are already seeing what those risks are driving. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, eclipsing all other causes of death, including breast cancer.”
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. and around the world. (iStock)
Klodas warned that heart disease starts early, progresses “stealthily,” and can present “out of the blue in devastating ways.”
The AHA published another study on Thursday revealing one million hospitalizations, showing that heart attack deaths are climbing among adults below the age of 55.
The more alarming finding, according to Klodas, is that young women were found more likely to die after their first heart attack than men of the same age.
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“This is all especially tragic since heart disease is almost entirely preventable,” she said. “The earlier you start, the better.”
Children can show early evidence of plaque deposition in their arteries, which can be reversed through lifestyle changes if “undertaken early enough and aggressively enough,” according to the expert.
Moving more is one part of protecting a healthy heart, according to experts. (iStock)
Klodas suggested that rising heart conditions are associated with traditional risk factors, like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.
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Doctors are also seeing higher rates of preeclampsia, or high blood pressure during pregnancy, as well as gestational diabetes. Klodas noted that these are sex-specific risk factors that don’t typically contribute to complications until after menopause.
The best way to protect a healthy heart is to “do the basics,” Klodas recommended, including the following lifestyle habits.
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Klodas especially emphasized making improvements to diet, as the food people eat affects “every single risk factor that the AHA’s report highlights.”
“High blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, excess weight – these are all conditions that are driven in part or in whole by food,” she said. “We eat multiple times every single day, which means what we eat has profound cumulative effects over time.”
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health,” a doctor said. (iStock)
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health.”
The doctor also recommends changing out a few snacks per day for healthier choices, which has been proven to “yield medication-level cholesterol reductions” in a month.
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“Keep up that small change and, over the course of a year, you could also lose 20 pounds and reduce your sodium intake enough to avoid blood pressure-lowering medications,” Klodas added.
“Women should not view the AHA report as inevitable. We have power over our health destinies. We just need to use it.”
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Nearsightedness (myopia) is skyrocketing globally, with nearly half of the world’s population expected to be myopic by 2050, according to the World Health Organization.
Heavy use of smartphones and other devices is associated with an 80% higher risk of myopia when combined with excessive computer use, but a new study suggests that dim indoor lighting could also be a factor.
For years, scientists have been puzzled by the different ways myopia is triggered. In lab settings, it can be induced by blurring vision or using different lenses. Conversely, it can be slowed by something as simple as spending time outdoors, research suggests.
Nearsightedness occurs when the eyeball grows too long from front to back, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). This physical elongation causes light to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on it, making distant objects appear blurry.
The study suggests that myopia isn’t caused by the digital devices themselves, but by the low-light environments where they are typically used. (iStock)
Researchers at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry identified a potential specific trigger for this growth. When someone looks at a phone or a book up close, the pupil naturally constricts.
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“In bright outdoor light, the pupil constricts to protect the eye while still allowing ample light to reach the retina,” Urusha Maharjan, a SUNY Optometry doctoral student who conducted the study, said in a press release.
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“When people focus on close objects indoors, such as phones, tablets or books, the pupil can also constrict — not because of brightness, but to sharpen the image,” she went on. “In dim lighting, this combination may significantly reduce retinal illumination.”
High-intensity natural light prevents myopia because it provides enough retinal stimulation to override the “stop growing” signal, even when pupils are constricted. (iStock)
The hypothesis suggests that when the retina is deprived of light during extended close-up work, it sends a signal for the eye to grow.
In a dim environment, the narrowed pupil allows so little light through that the retinal activity isn’t strong enough to signal the eye to stop growing, the researchers found.
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In contrast, being outdoors provides light levels much brighter than indoors. This ensures that even when the pupil narrows to focus on a nearby object, the retina still receives a strong signal, maintaining healthy eye development.
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The team noted some limitations of the study, including the small subject group and the inability to directly measure internal lens changes, as the bright backgrounds used to mimic the outdoors made pupils too small for standard equipment.
Researchers believe that increasing indoor brightness during close-up work could be a simple, testable way to slow the global nearsightedness epidemic. (iStock)
“This is not a final answer,” Jose-Manuel Alonso, MD, PhD, SUNY distinguished professor and senior author of the study, said in the release.
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“But the study offers a testable hypothesis that reframes how visual habits, lighting and eye focusing interact.”
The study was published in the journal Cell Reports.
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