Suffering From Insomnia? This Type of Exercise Can Improve Sleep Without Medication, Study Shows

If you frequently have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or feeling well-rested, insomnia may be to blame. Whether from too much screen time, excess caffeine, or age, this common sleep condition can wreak havoc on your life. 

Luckily, new research published in the BMJ Family Medicine and Community Health is presenting new findings that can help. 

"Sleep quality declines with age," lead authors in the study say. "Older people have more significant insomnia than younger people. Between 30 percent and 48 percent of seniors complain of sleepiness, while 12 to 20 percent have insomnia problems."

To figure out the best ways to reduce insomnia without the use of medication, researchers looked at 25 studies from the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) between 1996 and 2021. They analyzed the data of 2,170 participants who were at least 60 years old and exercised regularly.

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Out of all types of exercise researched (e.g. aerobic, balance, flexibility, etc.), strength training had the greatest impact on sleep, followed by aerobic exercise and combination exercise.

Resistance training has a stockpile of other benefits for the general population, too, including improved strength, greater mobility, and better mental health. For older adults, not only can strength training improve insomnia, but it can also reduce the risk of falls, lower the risk of injury, and more.