Next Physical activity promotes sleep Most adults sleep between seven and eight hours a night. In a typical night, they go back and forth between two sleep phases. The deepest sleep, which occurs during the NREM period, is called slow-wave sleep. This delicate cycle is unfortunately subject to disturbances.
Sleep disturbances are strongly related to mental illness.
Because exercise has been linked again and again with emotional benefits, it is possible that mental health gains associated with exercise may also improve sleep. Sedentary respondents also reported a higher rate of excessive daytime tiredness-a symptom of inadequate sleep at night. In 1985, Trinder et al. reported that the type of physical training can influence both sleep onset and the amount of slow-wave sleep. In a 1995 study, healthy but sedentary elders with normal sleep patterns participated in six months of either aerobic exercise or stretching and flexibility training. Both groups reported sleeping better at the end of the program.