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Exercising later in the evening doesn’t necessarily affect sleep

Writer's picture: Lottie MilesLottie Miles

12th June 2023

Researchers performed a meta-analysis of studies on this topic to determine the effect of training in the evening on sleep time.


Across 23 separate studies, they found no harmful effect of training late on sleep quality. Sleep onset delay, REM latency, slow wave sleep and stage 1 sleep were all either not effected, or slightly positively effected by evening training sessions.


One thing to note however, is the vast majority of these studies tested a moderate training protocol, and there was a negative correlation between core body temperature at bedtime and sleep quality. Therefore when doing very high intensity sessions in the evenings, give yourself plenty of time (more than 1hr) to cool down and relax before going to bed.


Stutz J, Eiholzer R, Spengler CM. Effects of Evening Exercise on Sleep in Healthy Participants: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2019 Feb;49(2):269-287. doi: 10.1007/s40279-018-1015-0. PMID: 30374942.

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