Importance of Exercise

There are many benefits of exercise, probably to be covered in later blog posts. For now, I want to focus on the importance of exercise as it relates to sleep. With the brain injury, I have never been a great sleeper-whether it's getting enough sleep, falling asleep, sleeping through the night, etc. I have tried so many methods- cool, dark room, herbal tea before bed, quiet hour before bed, sleep aids, etc. Sometimes I have felt like a professional "try to go to sleep-er!" Most methods have worked in one form or another to varying degrees but the most effective method to help me fall asleep quicker and sleep through the night? Exercise: hands down.

Life is crazy and busy and full for everyone but knowing how much exercise affects my sleep keeps me motivated to get regular exercise. I have a treadmill at home and I have a gym membership but due to the full-ness of life sometimes creativity is required to fit in exercise!

I also take public transit (buses or TRAX trains) most everywhere I go which also helps. The TRAX stops are close to home and work but there is a 15 minute wait in between trains so I use that time to pace the platform, get in a 15 minute walk. Sometimes I get strange looks from passengers as I am passing by them for the 5th time but hey, it works! When I have plans in the evening I may not have time for a full work-out but I do have 20-25 minutes to spare so I will get off a trax stop earlier and then get an extra 20 minute walk. Sometimes when I am lacking the motivation for exercise, running on the treadmill while having the tv closed captioned works wonders to help me keep running!

Obviously there are other crucial forms of exercise besides walking/running but these are the easiest for me to fit in on the fly. When I have had a hard workout that day I can "feel" a difference. I don't need such a long routine to "get ready for bed." My body naturally feels tired at the appropriate time. My brain/thinking is calmer instead of spinning in multiple directions. I sleep more soundly instead of wide awake in the middle of the night.

Questions? Comments?