- “Practice does not make perfect. It is practice, followed by a night of sleep, that leads to perfection.” Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep
- “There is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep.” Homer, The Odyssey
- “Sleep is the best meditation.” Dalai Lama
Sleep is almost 1/3 of our lifespan! Sure, let's make a simple calculation: If you are 60 years old then you spent close to 20 years sleeping😌! If your grandparent died (peacefully) in the age of 99 years old, then he slept almost 33years!!!
Since sleep is a major part of our lives and health and longevity, there is significant research and science that has been done the last decades to understand it better, address serious disorders and optimize and improve quality for all the people. There are institutes and researchers that focus on the science of sleep such as NHLBI/NIH. For example, during the pandemic/COVID, NIH researchers published results and data on how a good night sleep helps to boost the immune system and how to optimize sleep and habits daily.
There is also plenty of information on how physical activity can improve the length, regularity and quality of sleep. However, you need the right time/intensity, and right activity for the right age group. For example, moderate and regular exercise can affect positively the quality and duration of sleep. On the other hand, acute and vigorous exercise can become a negative factor on sleep for adolescents and adults. Older adults usually experience more problems with sleep quality but there are senior people who manage to balance exercise, sleep and autonomic nervous activity and enjoy good life. There are other studies that shows the effects of the work(high or low physical effort) can affect the sleep negatively or positively. The best way to know what works for you and your family is not only to read the literature and research but try different types of activities and monitor the effects on your sleep.
The last couple decades the wearable technologies grew exponentially and gave people several options to measure sleep, heart rate, oxygen consumption and other vital signs. The sleep trackers specifically can monitor sleep duration, quality, phases and even your diet that may affect your sleep or how to optimize alarms and light and sounds. The sleep technology and science provide now a lot of option for each individual to monitor their data, customize according to needs and age and win! Yes, sleep is an indicator of your health and wellbeing and it can be your competition to a 'virtual' race. Imagine you are competing with your age group, gender, profession in your country(or globally) and your goal is to record a good quality sleep. In order to succeed, you need again (like a marathoner in a long distance), to focus on, practice and love sleep.
References
- Interrelationship between Sleep and Exercise: A Systematic Review(2017)
- Balance of Autonomic Nervous Activity, Exercise, and Sleep Status in Older Adults: A Review of the Literature
- Effects of physical activity at work and life-style on sleep in workers from an Amazonian Extractivist Reserve
