Being fit helps you work, rest and play, study finds
A regular fitness regime can help you to concentrate better during the day and sleep better at night, an American study has found.In the December issue of the Mental Health and Physical Activity journal, researchers report that those who had exercised for at least 150 minutes a week saw a 65 per cent improvement in sleep quality.
Professor Bradley Cardinal, who co-authored the study of 3,081 men and women aged 18 to 85, says that although more work needs to be done in this area, the results provide encouragement for people with sleeping difficulties.
"Increasingly, the scientific evidence is encouraging as regular physical activity may serve as a non-pharmaceutical alternative to improve sleep," he explained.
Getting the right amount of sleep is important for maintaining mental alertness and scientists recommend that adults should get at least 7 hours' sleep a night, while school-age children require 10 hours' sleep.
