We all have a good excuse not to exercise. Too late, too tired, don’t want to sweat. And yet, a handful of minutes, a few barely perceptible movements, could well save you… half an hour of sleep each night. No need for mats or fluorescent leggings: just a little consistency, and three minutes of your time.
This is what a new study from the University of Otago in New Zealand reveals, published in July 2024 in the British Medical Journal Open Sport & Exercise Medicine. By observing the effects of very gentle resistance exercises, carried out in three-minute increments every half-hour at the end of the day, the researchers demonstrated an average gain of 30 minutes of sleep among the participants. A minimalist, but promising routine, especially for sedentary people.
An ultra-simple routine that significantly improves sleep
The experiment was carried out on around thirty people invited to attend two types of typical evenings. In the first case, the participants sat for four consecutive hours, like a typical end of the day in front of the television. In the other, these same people had to interrupt their sedentary lifestyle every 30 minutes, with three minutes of body weight exercises.
The results surprised even the researchers: after the session with active breaks, the participants slept on average
30 more minutes compared to their usual sleep. “Many sleep recommendations tell us that we should not do long periods or higher intensity exercise in the hours before sleep,” says study author Jennifer Gale. “But here, the low intensity makes it possible to activate the body without disturbing the biological parameters sensitive to falling asleep.”
This is precisely what makes the method so accessible: no noticeable rise in body temperature, no cardiac acceleration, just a slight muscular awakening.
Here is the exercise sequence recommended by researchers
The imagined routine is designed to stick to a classic evening. No need to leave the living room or cut your show: just take advantage of commercial breaks or a change of scene to get up and move. In all, three minutes are enough, every half hour.
The exercises to do are simple and mainly target the legs and lower body:
-
Chair squats;
- Calf raises;
- Standing knee raises
- Stretched leg hip extensions.
Each series is short, requires no equipment and is done on site, in a corner of the salon. “These simple exercises were chosen because they don’t require equipment or a lot of space and you can do them without interrupting the TV show you’re watching.”specify the authors of the study.
And that’s not all: according to their observations, this mini-activity also allows reduce blood sugar and fat levels after dinner, thus limiting glycemic peaks which often disrupt falling asleep.
A solution designed for sedentary people
This protocol is not intended for those who already run regularly or lift weights every week. It is designed for another target: people sitting all dayin front of a computer or a remote control.
“The most important thing is to get up from your chair regularly and move your body.”recall the researchers. Because despite its simplicity, this micro-routine sends a clear message to the body: the day is coming to an end, it is time to relax and prepare the ground for sleep.
A good reminder, too, that the quality of our nights sometimes depends less on ergonomic mattresses than on a few steps taken between two episodes.