How do Late-Night Workouts Affect your Sleep?
Late-night workouts can potentially have a negative impact on sleep, but it varies from person to person. So, if you notice you’re not able to fall asleep as quickly on nights that you’ve put in a later shift at the gym, here are a few factors to consider:
Stimulating Effect:
Exercise, particularly high-intensity workouts, can stimulate the body and mind, making it difficult for some people to wind down and fall asleep quickly after a late-night workout.
Body Temperature:
Exercise raises body temperature, and it can take several hours for the body to cool down afterward. A cooler body temperature is associated with better sleep, so late-night exercise may interfere with this natural cooling process.
Hormonal Changes:
Exercise triggers the release of hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, which can increase alertness and make it harder to relax and fall asleep.
Individual Variability:
Some people may be more sensitive to the effects of late-night exercise on sleep than others. Factors such as genetics, fitness level, and overall health can play a role in how exercise impacts sleep.
How Can Cronometer Help?
Cronometer has several features that can help you determine how late-night workouts affect your sleep.
- If you’re not already, start tracking your sleep & exercise in Cronometer. You can do this by manually logging exercise and a sleep biometric, or sync a device to have them automatically feed into your account. To learn how to do this visit the blog here.
- Once you sync a device and track your sleep, you’ll have access to a Sleep Breakdown widget on your Dashboard which will display your sleep duration, sleep stages, readiness score, and more.
- To take it to the next level, try our Timestamp Gold Feature so you can get insights on how your workout time affects your sleep or even your appetite throughout the day by creating Custom Charts. Not a Gold subscriber? Click here to get started.
The Bottom Line
While late-night workouts can disrupt sleep for some, others may find they help with relaxation and improved rest. If unsure, try exercising at different times to see how it affects your sleep by checking out your Sleep Breakdown to get all of the details and find out what works best for you!
