You may be wondering whether it is right to work out at the end of the day if you have chronic sleep loss. According to the CDC, this is a widespread conundrum since 1 in 3 Americans are sleep-deprived.
Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine director at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Dr. Phyllis Zee, said that it is a bidirectional association. Zee added that clear information shows that regular physical activity enhances sleep quality with moderate exercise early morning, later afternoon, or evening can result in deep sleep.
The process of deep sleep facilitates the healing and restoration of the body. It is commonly referred to as “slow wave” sleep, and its attainment is only possible when an individual’s sleep quality remains undisturbed with minimal or no interruptions throughout the night.
Zee explained that sleeping better can help someone engage in exercise, and physical activity levels will improve. Therefore even if you have a bad night’s sleep, it is important to maintain physical activity.
These four sleep stages the body goes through each night. In the first and second states, your body decreases rhythms in preparation for the third stage, which is deep and slow-wave sleep, where your body is restoring itself. The body will fix the tear and wear from your day and consolidate memories for long-term storage. The final stage is rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, where you start to dream.
According to studies, missing REM sleep can result in memory deficit, worse cognitive outcomes, and other chronic diseases. In contrast, research has established that deep sleep boosts immune functioning and healing.
Experts say that a single night of deprived sleep cannot impact exercise routine, but chronic sleep deprivation that results in several days of exhaustion should be worrying. Without sleep, muscles cannot recover from physical workout stress. Therefore, breaking down muscles without allowing time to recover is not advisable.