Abstract
This study investigated the effects of different forms of exercise on night sleep. Seven undergraduate and graduate students (mean±SD: 22.6±1.0 years of age) who did not habitually exercise participated in this study. Sleep stages were discerned using polysomnography during night sleep, and slow wave sleep (SWS) and other sleep factors were analyzed. This experiment consisted of a control session without exercise, and exercise sessions performed a maximum of two hours before bed. The exercise sessions included one hour on a cycle ergometer at an intensity of 50% of heart rate reserve or resistance movements performed at an intensity of 60% with one repetition. As a result, the sleep latencies in both exercise sessions were shorter than that in the control condition. In addition, moderate endurance or resistance exercises increased the percentage of SWS during night sleep when compared to the control condition. These findings suggest that moderate aerobic or resistance exercises are recommended for sedentary people in order to improve the quality of sleep.
