Today's three-minute lesson

An Active Day Supports a Restful Night

Physical activity does more than support your fitness.

It can also help you sleep.

During Week 1, you used morning movement to help your body feel more alert and reinforce that the active part of your day had begun.

Activity can affect us differently depending on what we do, when we do it and how intensely we do it. It can sharpen our attention and lift our energy when we need to feel awake, but it can also release physical tension and help the body feel more settled afterwards.

Movement can increase alertness in the moment while helping to create a clearer contrast between an active day and a restful night. It gives your body something to recover from and can support the natural increase in your need for sleep as the day progresses.

From the moment you wake up, your sleep pressure gradually builds. The longer you remain awake, the stronger that pressure generally becomes. Being active during the day does not create sleep pressure on its own, but it can help support the natural processes that prepare your body for rest.

This does not mean you need to exhaust yourself or complete an intense workout every day.

Walking, gardening, housework, playing with your children or any other activity that gets your body moving all count. What matters most is avoiding long periods of being completely sedentary.

If you spend much of the day sitting, look for small opportunities to break it up. Walk around while speaking on the phone, use the stairs when you can or take a short walk during your lunch break. These small periods of activity can add up across the day without feeling like a formal workout.

Getting outside can make this even more useful. Movement can increase alertness, while daylight reinforces that it is still daytime. Together, they can help you through an afternoon dip without relying entirely on caffeine - while still supporting your sleep later that night.

More exercise is not always better, particularly close to bedtime. Vigorous activity raises your heart rate, body temperature and alertness. Some people can exercise late without any difficulty, while others find that it leaves them feeling too stimulated to sleep.

Pay attention to how your own body responds.

The aim is not to tire yourself out so completely that you collapse into bed. It is to make movement a normal part of your day, helping you feel more alert when you need to be awake and making rest feel like the natural next step when nighttime arrives.