Sleep and Physical Activity Are Connected, New Study Says

New intriguing study highlights the importance of a somehow odd connection: sleep and physical activity. Researchers aimed to figure out as much as they could to address some long-standing hypotheses.

The study focused on middle-aged women as they entered menopause. It’s genuinely a groundbreaking approach that should further be explored.

Here is what you need to know.

Fitness and Sleep Go Hand-in-Hand They Say

A team of researchers from the University of Saskatchewan (USask), led by Dr. Heather Foulds (Ph.D.), came across some intriguing new facts about the sleep and physical activity connection among middle-aged women.

Their study succeeded in highlighting the difference between women with increased aerobic fitness levels sleeping more every night and waking up more rested.

Study insights

For the recent study, the team surveyed 114 healthy women, aged 30-55 from 2015-2019. All the participants were from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

The women were classified on their grip strength, aerobic fitness, and how physically active they really are. Then, researchers asked the participants to walk as far as they can, as fast as they can in only 6 minutes!

As for the grip strength test, it included the women’s musculoskeletal fitness level via a device in their hand that they had to squeeze as much as they could.

Finally, the group filled out a questionnaire, as well, to measure their level of fitness.

Findings

The results divided the participants into two classifications:

• The fit group: a higher aerobic fitness level led to better sleep (7.04 hours);
• The unfit group: the sleep quality was influenced by the low aerobic fitness level (6.61 hours of sleep).