Insomnia is a classification of sleep disorders in which a person has difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. It is the most commonly reported sleep disorder. Insomnia affects almost 30% of the adult population. It is more common in the elderly. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that adults get between seven and eight hours of nightly sleep.

Treating Insomnia with Moderate Aerobic Exercise

Researchers have found that moderate aerobic exercise can reduce the anxiety state and improve the sleep quality of insomnia patients. The findings of this research were published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine in 2008.

The researchers found that sleep onset latency reduced by almost 54%. In sleep science, sleep onset latency is the length of time that it takes to sleep from the time lights are turned off. Normally, this should not take more than 20 minutes.

Wake time was reduced by 36%. Wake time is a term used in sleep science to determine the time taken from being asleep to being fully awake. This group also increased sleep efficiency by18% and total sleep time by 21%. Sleep efficiency is the number of minutes of sleep divided by the number of minutes in bed. It was also observed that participants had a significant reduction of 7% of being in the anxiety state.

According to Giselle S. Passos who was the lead researcher in the project, “These findings show that there is a way to diminish the symptoms of insomnia without using medication.” “This study is the first to look at the importance of using physical exercise to treat insomnia, and may contribute to increased quality of life in people with one of the most important kind of sleep disorders around the world.”

Incorporate Moderate Intensity Aerobic Exercise

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine advises to complete your exercise at least 6 hours before you plan to sleep.  People who have difficulty sleeping should do moderate aerobic exercise in the morning. You could consider exercises such as brisk walking or even jogging. Most people would be able to see significant improvements in sleep quality.