The chicken and egg of exercise and sleep

What do you think comes first?

In many ways we are designed to be lazy.  Our brain has evolved over a long period of time to encourage us to make decisions that save energy because food was never in abundance like it is today.   

Exercise (along with learning something new) is one of the most energy draining activities we can do.

So when we are tired, potentially because we haven’t been sleeping well, it is an evolutionary natural instinct for our brains to say ‘exercise? are you kidding me, we are running low on resources as it is’.

We risk getting stuck in this nasty cycle of minimal movement and poor quality of sleep day after day which is terrible for our mental and physical health.  

With long working hours, smart phones and just generally busy lifestyles we see that many people are not getting adequate sleep quality each night. Is it any wonder that 70% of the population don’t meet the governments weekly exercise guidelines (which works out at approx. 30 mins on most days).

Here’s the thing. Exercise and movement are a key player in achieving high quality sleep. But how do you get back into the swing of exercise when you’re so tired. 

What do we focus on first to break this cycle?

I believe the answer will vary, hence the chicken and egg conundrum.

For some focusing on going to bed earlier, not looking at their phones in the evening and reading a book before bed will help rejuvenate them and then the exercise routine will naturally fall back into place. 

For others (like me), it needs to be exercise driven, to focus on getting my body moving during the day, even if it’s only a very low intensity and a short duration, this will help me to deal with the stress and anxiety that may have been contributing to the poor sleep in the first place.

So, what comes first for you? exercise for good sleep, or good sleep for exercise?

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