Epinephrine Levels
It’s well known that epinephrine/adrenaline increases during exercise.
The question is, does the presence of epinephrine last long enough to interfere with sleep?
Generally speaking, once your heart rate has returned to normal (which should happen a half hour after exercise) the epinephrine in your body should have stabilized. Bottom line? Finish workouts at least a half hour before you want to go to bed.
“Just Not Healthy”
This is an excuse spoken by people who are either ignorant about science or lazy. Don’t let them stop you from pursuing optimum health with a workout routine. If you can only workout at night, that’s okay. We encourage you to go for it!
Why All the Argument Against Night Time Exercising?
Most experts tend to agree that the reason exercising at night has gotten such a bad rap is that most people are looking for an excuse not to exercise! If the evening is the only available time in your schedule, it’s easy to dismiss exercise in the name of sleep.
Plus, if you’re already exhausted, exercise will only make you more tired. And, contrary to what you might expect, being completely exhausted does not mean better sleep. Over-exhaustion, which could be the result of daily life and late night exercise, can interfere with good sleep. (Check out some tips from WebMD on coping with exhaustion and sleep.)
sources:
- https://firstaid.webmd.com/body-temperature
- https://www.livestrong.com/article/361702-why-does-body-temperature-increase-during-exercise/
- https://www.livestrong.com/article/406378-cannot-sleep-after-exercise/ https://www.nbcnews.com/id/11326819/#.UQvR8BzXRfA
- https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/anatomyvideos/000051.htm
- https://www.livestrong.com/article/432882-how-long-should-your-heartbeat-be-elevated-after-exercise/
- https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/excessive-sleepiness-10/how-tired-is-too-tired
Do you think exercise at night makes sleep more difficult?