Regular exercise or getting enough sleep, which one is better?

Regular exercise and getting enough sleep are two things that are equally important to maintaining a healthy body. But, when you feel tired and sleep deprived, do you still need to get up early to do sports? Maybe you wish the answer was "no". After all, a mattress and a warm blanket are more tempting than having to go to the trouble of spending energy on exercise. Especially if it's raining outside.

That is why, choosing between continuing to sleep in order to get a healthy sleep is fulfilled, or forcing to wake up to exercise, are two difficult choices. So, between these two choices, which one should come first: exercise or sleep?

Sleep and exercise are equally important

If asked to choose, according to Edward Laskowski, MD, a resident and professor of physical medicine at the Mayo Clinic, sleep and exercise are like food and water. Not only are they necessary for the body, but the two are very difficult to separate from one another. That's why these two things are such a difficult choice.

Cheri Mah, a sleep medicine researcher at Stanford University and the University of California, San Francisco added that, based on many research results, it is known that regular exercise is very important to get quality sleep, and quality sleep is also important for physical performance.

However, Mah said that in essence sleep is the most basic need which forms the foundation on which a healthy mind and body are formed. If that foundation is shaky, it will certainly have an impact on your health. Starting from immune function, energy, appetite, mood and so on.

What is the ideal time each night?

According to the National Sleep Foundation, the ideal sleep duration for adults is around seven to nine hours per night. Kelly Glazer Baron, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and sleep researcher at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, also said the same thing. A night's sleep is said to be enough if it lasts up to seven hours, so that it can really help you work and exercise more optimally the next day.

In fact, according to research conducted by a research team from Northwestern University, people with insomnia who do aerobic exercise regularly report improved sleep quality and claim to be less tired during the day. That is why, if you can sleep seven to eight hours a night then there is no reason not to exercise.

So, how do you get enough sleep and keep exercising regularly?

From the various studies mentioned above, it is known that the relationship between sleep and exercise is basically inseparable from one another. That's why you still have to try hard to balance the two. How to? Here are some ways you can balance exercise routine and getting enough sleep.

• First, try to sacrifice your normal sleep hours to exercise in the morning, at least two to three days during the week. Relax, on other days you can sleep longer, really!
• If you sleep less than six hours most nights, it may be time for you to rethink your routine schedule that you do each day. You can see where you will be more efficient in terms of time. For example, go to bed 15 minutes earlier or cut back 10 minutes from your morning routine to get a little more sleep.
• If you're not the early riser type, consider stealing your lunch break or after work to get some exercise. You can exercise for at least 40 minutes at moderate intensity three times per week
• If you are sick, you should put sleep first and postpone exercise until your condition is truly stable. This is because exercising that is too forced or excessive, in addition to further decreasing your body's resistance when you are sick, it can also cause a decrease in the quality and duration of your sleep.