What you do during the day determines how you sleep

By Imogen Howse via SWNS

What we do in the day determines how well we sleep at night, a world-first study has concluded.

Bad sleepers are often told about the importance of 'sleep hygiene' in the run-up to bed such as getting off screens and avoiding alcohol.

But scientists believe the key lies a lot earlier, with physical activity during the day being one of the cornerstones of a good night's sleep.

Many people struggle to get enough sleep, or, struggle to get good quality sleep which leaves them feeling energized rather than tired.

This can sometimes contribute to serious health issues, with sleep deficiency and deprivation linked to problems such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and depression.

However, a study from the University of South Australia suggests a simple solution.

Researchers found that getting a good night’s sleep is tied to how you structure your day – especially when it comes to exercise.

The team tracked the daytime routines and sleep patterns of 1360 adults and 1168 children and then altered participants’ activities to see how this affected their sleep.

Results, published in the journal Sleep Health, revealed that participants with higher levels of moderate to physical activity had less trouble falling asleep, better sleep quality, and reduced overall tiredness.

Lead researcher Dr. Lisa Matricciani said the findings prove how important our whole day is when it comes to sleep – and urged people to do more than simply changing their bedtime habits if they want to improve their shut-eye time.

She explained: “Despite what we know about sleeping, many people still struggle to achieve a good night’s sleep.

“When people think about sleep quality, they tend to focus on adjustments immediately before bedtime – for example, avoiding screens, not eating too much, and avoiding alcohol – but our research looks beyond this to the range of activities we undertake during the day.

“What we found is that our daytime activities are tied to different aspects of our sleep, from sleep quality and sleep efficiency to the overall amount of sleep we get and our levels of tiredness during the day.”

Dr. Matricciani added that simply going to bed earlier won’t necessarily increase the efficiency of your sleep, how much of the time spent in bed you are actually asleep for.

“Sometimes, the activities we choose might directly displace sleep - think of kids playing video games late into the night - but other times, it’s how we spend our daytime hours,” she said.

“Interestingly, simply making more time for sleep predicted more restless sleep.

“In contrast, we found that if children and adults increased moderate to vigorous physical activity, they would have better-quality sleep.”

Australian guidelines indicate that most adults need about eight hours of sleep per night, while children and teenagers require between eight and eleven hours.

UK guidelines suggest adults need between seven and nine hours, and children require between nine and thirteen hours.

“Everyone wants a good night’s sleep. If it’s simply a matter of being more active during the day, then it may be a relatively achievable goal for most of us,” Dr. Matricciani concluded.