Advertisement

Walk your way to better sleep

Walk your way to better sleep. Photo: Thinkstock.

According to a new study even light exercise like walking can boost the quality of your sleep.

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania found that compared to no exercise at all, activities like running, strength training and even walking are associated with improved sleep patterns..

Related: Best foods to boost your brain power

As part of the study, researchers analysed data from over 400,000 adults on their sleep and exercise routines.

Participants were asked how much time they spent doing physical activities and how much sleep they usually got in a 24-hour period.

Related: Easy ways to reduce your sugar intake

The findings revealed that every type of activity, with the exception of childcare and housework, was associated with improved sleep patterns.

"Those who got some activity, no matter what it was, were more likely to get the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep," said lead researcher Dr. Michael Grandner to the Huffington Post.

He noted that his team was surprised to find that even walking was enough to improve the quality of people’s sleep and that the effects were even more evident with activities like running.

Need another reason to walk? Do it for a good cause! AFL legend Jude Bolton and his wife, Lynette, have teamed up with HCF's Walk With Us where they will lead a team in the Mother's Day Classic to walk towards finding a cure for breast cancer. For every person who joins Team HCF for Walk With Us, they will donate $100, plus an extra $10 for every selfie tagged #walkwithus to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. For more info, check out this link.]