After countless years of so-called experts telling exercise enthusiasts that they should never exercise close to bedtime, apparently they’re finally coming around.
USA Today reports on Monday that a leading sleep group and other experts in sleep and exercise state that it’s time to throw out the old rule that you should never exercise in the hours just before retiring to bed.
For the night owls out there, it never really mattered because they were never awake early enough to get motivated to work out during daylight hours.
There are some people apparently that need studies to guide them; even when it comes to when they should exercise.
The 2013 Sleep in America Poll, which was released on Monday, finds people who exercise at any time of day report sleeping better and feeling more rested than those who don’t exercise. They have found no significant difference between those who exercise right before bed and those who exercise earlier in the day.
"The timing of exercise ought to be driven by when the pool's lap lane is open or when your tennis partner is available or when you have time to get away from work, not by some statement that has never been validated," says Barbara Phillips, a University of Kentucky sleep medicine specialist who worked on the poll.
Any parent can tell you that when kids play hard, they sleep hard. Is it as simple as that? Perhaps it is and these studies are a complete waste of time.
The bottom line is that it’s better to exercise than not to exercise and if you can only find time to sneak a work-out in before bedtime then go for it.
Is this yet another case of the book-smart-no-common-sense epidemic?
For all of you who have been waiting patiently for the green light to take advantage of the local gym that never sleeps; sweet dreams.
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