Training Before Bed: Is It a Good Idea?

Sleep is one of the pillars of a healthy lifestyle. Sleep deficiency may result in numerous negative consequences (increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, weak immune system, difficulty losing weight – you can read more about it HERE and HERE).

I am aware that insufficient sleep is often the result of overwork, too many responsibilities and tasks for which there is simply not enough time. I also know that you want to take care of your body by exercising regularly, which of course makes me extremely happy. However, sometimes you ask whether training before bed is a good idea. Or, what if you only have some free time for yourself late in the evening? How does training affect the quality of sleep?

Activity and Sleep Quality

Let me start off with some good news. The sleep quality of physically active people is better compared to inactive people, especially if it involves outdoor activity. You probably know from your own experience how pleasant it is to go to bed after a day spent on the sports field, walking along the seaside or a long bicycle trip. An oxygenated, tired body quickly enters the state of deep regeneration. Nevertheless, the time of activity and its intensity should be taken into account, because an intensive workout that is done too late may bring the opposite results.

Timing and Intensity Do Matter

If you can only train immediately before going to bed, focus on low- or medium-intensity activities, such as: yoga, pilates, stretching, walking, leisurely cycling, and medium-intensity strength training. Activities requiring higher intensity (HIIT training, cardio, long-distance running) may make it difficult to fall asleep. All this is due to excessive stimulation. Intensive training will cause a temporary increase in the concentration of cortisol (commonly called the stress hormone) and may also disturb the secretion of melatonin (a hormone that regulates the functioning of the biological clock, the concentration of which naturally increases in the evening), therefore more intense training should be performed at least 2-3 hours before going to bed. Remember that in the case of some diseases (e.g. Hashimoto’s disease), intense evening activity is not recommended.

A Healthy Compromise

To sum up, remember that regular physical activity brings a lot of benefits for the whole body. It helps maintain the desired body weight, and has a positive effect on the functioning of the cardiovascular and immune systems. Moreover, it is a great way to relieve tension, to improve our well-being, and strengthen muscles. It is just as important to get enough good quality sleep during which the body can regenerate. As usual, you need to find your golden mean.

If you cannot change the time of your evening training because it is the only quiet moment during the day when you can focus on yourself:

• choose low or medium intensity activity (let me remind you about the professional training programs that are waiting for you in the Diet & Training by Ann app HERE, including – Yoga for Better Sleep)
• finish the workout with calming breathing exercises (which you can also find in the app);
• use relaxation, meditation, and audio tracks before going to bed that will help you fall asleep (don’t forget about calming audio tracks that are waiting for you in the Balance tab);
• take care of all the other factors that affect the quality of sleep (such as light dinner eaten early enough, airing and darkening the bedroom).

What to do when you cannot keep the 2-3 hour rule

The advice above assumes a choice about when to train, and plenty of evenings do not offer one. Three things help when the session has to finish close to bedtime, and none of them require changing the hour.

The first is body temperature. Exercise raises core temperature, and falling asleep depends on it coming back down, which is a large part of why a hard session late keeps you awake. A warm shower afterwards sounds like the wrong move and is not: it pushes blood to the skin, and the drop that follows is faster than if you had done nothing.

The second is light. Finishing a workout under bright overhead lighting and then going straight to bed asks the body to do two contradictory things at once. Dim what you can for the last part of the session and afterwards.

The third is the one people forget entirely, and it is below.

The pre-workout is often the real problem

Caffeine has a half-life of about five to six hours, which means a pre-workout or a strong coffee at seven in the evening still has half its dose working at midnight and a quarter of it at five in the morning. For a late session, that single decision affects sleep more than the training does.

This is worth separating out, because people who conclude that evening training ruins their sleep have often only tested evening training with a stimulant. Try the same session without one before deciding the hour is the problem.

How much does it actually matter?

For most people, less than expected. The research summarised in the sources below finds the effect of evening exercise on sleep to be modest on average, with high-intensity work close to bedtime as the clearest exception. Regular activity does more good for sleep overall than a late session does harm.

Individual variation is large, though, which is why the practical answer is to test it rather than to adopt a rule. Keep the hour and the intensity constant for a fortnight and note how long it takes to fall asleep. That tells you more about your own body than any general recommendation can.

Frequently asked questions

Bibliography

1. De Nys L, Anderson K, Ofosu EF, Ryde GC, Connelly J, Whittaker AC. The effects of physical activity on cortisol and sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2022 Sep:143:105843. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105843
2. Sejbuk M, Mirończuk-Chodakowska I, Witkowska AM. Sleep Quality: A Narrative Review on Nutrition, Stimulants, and Physical Activity as Important Factors. Nutrients. 2022 May 2;14(9):1912. doi: 10.3390/nu14091912