Having difficulties sleeping at night?

According to the study conducted by researchers in Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, aerobic exercise helps to relieve insomnia and improve mood in middle-aged and older adults.

The study is important since large number of US population is suffering from chronic insomnia symptoms.

“This is relevant to a huge portion of the population,” said Phyllis Zee, M.D., director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Northwestern Medicine.The study looked at 23 sedentary adults, mostly women 55 years and older, who had difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep.

The research discovered that two 20-minute aerobic workouts carried out four times weekly made sleep quality better.

Exercise improved the participants’ self-reported sleep quality, moving them from a diagnosis of “poor sleeper” to “good sleeper.” They also reported less depressive symptoms, improved vitality and less sleepiness in daytime.

“Insomnia increases with age. Around middle age, sleep begins to change dramatically. It is essential that we identify behavioral ways to improve sleep. Now we have promising results showing aerobic exercise is a simple strategy to help people sleep better and feel more vigorous,” Zee said.