I´m about to get on the mat and do an hour long yoga session. It´s late in the evening, but due to recent changes in my daily routine, exercise early morning or day might not always be possible.

I´ve been thinkning that exercise this late isn´t so beneficial, but luckily this science report came my way today and proved me wrong. The report published in Sleep Medicine gives that exercise before bedtime can result in better sleep:

Against expectations and general recommendations for sleep hygiene, high self-perceived exercise exertion before bedtime was associated with better sleep patterns in a sample of healthy young adults. Further studies should also focus on elderly adults and adults suffering from insomnia.

[…]

Greater exercise exertion was associated with higher sleep efficiency, shortened sleep onset latency, fewer awakenings and shorter duration of awakenings after sleep onset, less light sleep and more deep sleep.

[…]

Among a sample of healthy young adults, self-perceived exercise exertion and objectively assessed sleep were positively associated. The present pattern of results puts into question both scientific and lay opinion that increased exercise exertion in the evening should be avoided immediately prior to bedtime.

Featured image: Woman exercising with dumbells, 1920s. Copyright by Bettmann/CORBIS. Found via vintage everyday.

Via @mikeolpin.