Exercises That Fight Insomnia
If you've ever spent an entire day outside running around,
chasing your children or taking a hike, you probably found it
easy to fall asleep. Insomnia wasn't nagging at you after you'd
exhausted your body through physical activity.
For some people though that rule doesn't apply to them. Intense
physical activity while working the muscles and getting the
heartbeat up, can work as a stimulant and instead of drifting
easily to sleep, a person can find themselves wide awake
fighting insomnia.
Keeping our bodies active is important. Not just for the obvious
physical benefits but also because regular exercise can be a
natural cure for insomnia. It's important to choose exercises
that will work towards the goal of sleep as opposed to the
exercises that energize you to a point that sleep becomes almost
impossible.
Yoga is a method of exercise that people have been doing for
centuries. It involves a series of stretches and breathing
exercises that work to tone the body from the inside out. Most
cities offer several choices in yoga programs. Often many yoga
studios even offer a free drop-in class. This helps you become
familiar with the program and the series of stretches that are
involved. If it's something that you enjoy you can quickly
incorporate it into your fitness regime and before long you'll
feel the positive benefits in relation to your sleep patterns as
well.
Walking is a great exercise to combat insomnia as well. With
walking though timing is very important. You don't want to go
for a long and strenuous walk shortly before you are retiring
for the evening. During the walk your heartbeat will have become
elevated and many of your muscles will be tight. If you go from
moving at a steady pace to trying to lay silently in the bed,
chances are that sleep will elude you for at least a couple of
hours. Your body truly does need a cooling off period, so the
benefits of walking in relation to insomnia can be most profound
if the walking is done earlier in the day.
Another exercise that has a positive result when it comes to
insomnia is swimming. Swimming at a steady pace up and down the
length of the pool allows your muscles to be worked out gently
and the water offers a soothing quality that many other exercise
regimes don't. Also, if you are swimming at a public facility,
they also often offer free use of a sauna or a hot tub. Both of
these allow your body to relax and can help prepare you for
sleep.
Exercise can be a great way to naturally fight insomnia, however
the success of that depends a great deal on the type of
exercise. Pick something not too strenuous that is soothing and
allows you to easily shift from the activity to preparing for
bed. If you make exercise a regular part of your evening
routine, you'll find yourself waking up to a night free of
insomnia.