Gain Better Sleep by Losing Weight

Everybody knows that being even a couple pounds overweight is bad for you, and the heavier you are, the more at risk you are for developing a variety of health problems. But a lot of people don't know how intimately connected their weight and the quality of their sleep are.

Obesity is a Recipe for Insomnia

Being extremely overweight (or obese) is bad for sleep primarily because it increases your odds of developing sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a terrible medical condition that causes sufferers to stop breathing during the night.

Once sufferers stop breathing, they usually wake up and then fall back asleep. Often, most sufferers are not even aware that they are waking up multiple times each night, but they still feel exhausted during the day.

Of course, the effects of being overweight on the quality of your sleep go beyond increasing your risk of developing sleep apnea. In general, overweight people have a harder time regulating stress than people who are not overweight.

Because insomnia is very powerfully linked to feelings of stress, having difficulties regulating stress is going to make you much more prone to developing severe problems falling asleep at night.

Exhaust Your Body for Better Sleep

If you are overweight, exercising regularly is a great way to reduce your weight and make it easier for you to fall asleep at night and get better sleep. Even if you are not overweight, a regular exercise program is one of the best ways to effectively fight insomnia.

Exercise helps people overcome insomnia by helping the body feel tired at night. Often, in our modern world we do not get the physical exercise we need to feel physically tired at night. Feeling some degree of physical tiredness is almost essential if you want to be able to fall asleep relatively easily at night.

Aerobic Exercise is Best 

What kind of exercise is best for helping with insomnia? Just about any kind of moderately intense physical exercise will help you with your insomnia. The main thing to keep in mind is the importance of exercising regularly. You don't need to exercise every single day of the week, but you should exercise at least three times a week for a long enough period of time to work up a sweat.

The best exercise programs for promoting better sleep emphasize aerobic exercise. While weight lifting and other anaerobic forms of exercise will still help you to reduce your insomnia problems, they aren't quite as effective as aerobic exercise at promoting the whole-body tiredness you need to fall asleep as quickly as possible at night.

Do What You Can, But Do Something!

Walking, running and swimming are forms of aerobic exercise that will help you to work out multiple muscles in your body and feel quite tired at the end of the day.

Even if you feel you really don't have time to adopt a serious exercise program, you can still make an effort to incorporate extra exercise into your daily life. If you are trying to get to somewhere close by, walk instead of driving when you can. Taking the stairs instead of an elevator when possible is also a good way to get a little more exercise into your day and getting better sleep at night.

 By Gracie Canfield