Can Night Squats Help You Sleep Better? Study Insights

Researchers have discovered a connection between nightly squats and improved sleep. Studies have found that light exercise before bedtime can enhance sleep quality. This article explores the science behind sleep and how nightly squats can benefit you.

What the study says about night squats and sleep

A 2024 study by researchers at the University of Otago in New Zealand included 28 participants. From approximately 5 p.m., each participant was assigned to complete two four-hour interventions: prolonged sitting and sitting interrupted by three minutes of bodyweight resistance exercise activity breaks every 30 minutes. These exercises included chair squats, calf raises, and standing knee raises with straight leg hip extensions.

Researchers found that these regular workouts before bed resulted in approximately 30 minutes of extra sleep. They also showed that short bursts of nightly strength training exercises did not disturb sleep quality. These positive outcomes indicate a potential link between increased muscle activity and better relaxation before sleep.

Why squats might help you sleep better

The 2024 study is not alone in showing the potential positive impact of a light workout on sleep enhancement. A review of other studies has shown that exercise could improve sleep quality.

What is the link between squats and improved sleep quality? The answer could lie with our 'feel-good' hormones called endorphins. These hormones are released when we exercise and are often described as a 'runner’s high.' According to the American Physiological Association, exercise increases blood supply to the brain, causing increased oxygen and nutrient supply.

Furthermore, exercise is known to potentially improve mental health as it has been shown to improve the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and distress — fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms — linked to improved sleep quality.

The science behind exercise and sleep

There are some scientific explanations for how exercise affects sleep:

• Regulation of the circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is the 24-hour clock inside the body that regulates sleep and wake cycles. Many factors may disrupt the circadian rhythm, such as staying up too late, lack of natural light exposure during the day, excessive caffeine and alcohol use, and aging. As a result, long-term sleep loss can occur. Meanwhile, regular exercise has been shown to realign the circadian rhythm, thereby improving sleep, especially in older individuals.
• Reduced insomnia. Over time, anxiety, stress, or poor sleeping habits may lead to insomnia. According to a 2022 systematic review, strong evidence suggests exercise reduces the severity of insomnia. Therefore, having a regular exercise routine throughout the week might be beneficial to improving sleep.
• Improved mental health. Research suggests that exercise may reduce stress and anxiety due to various psychological mechanisms (like regulating hormones), which may also result in improved sleep quality and quantity.

Does timing matter?

For a long time, late-night exercise was thought to disrupt sleep rather than improve it. A 2023 study showed that lengthy, intense evening exercises lasting more than 90 minutes cause poor sleep quality. However, recent evidence now shows that light-to-moderate exercise like squats may have the opposite effect: they may improve sleep quality.

Timing may be key; lighter activities (e.g., chair squats, calf raises, or hip extensions) closer to our bedtime could be calming and may improve sleep duration and sleep quality, while intense workouts may disrupt sleep.

How to incorporate night squats into your routine

With busy schedules, it may be challenging to incorporate light exercise into a nighttime routine. However, options for integrating night squats into your bedtime routine are below.

Best time to do night squats

In the 2024 study mentioned above, light exercises were performed from 5–5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Exercise may increase heart rate and body temperature, keeping you awake for a while. Therefore, depending on the time you usually go to sleep, it may be ideal to perform squats approximately two hours before bed so that your body can fully relax; this can be adjusted to suit your body's response to exercise.

To avoid overstimulating the body, perform light, moderate-intensity squats before bed. As mentioned above, an intense late night workout can cause poor sleep quality.

How many squats should you do before bed?

Ideally, you could aim for 20 minutes of squat exercise, consisting of five sets (i.e., five rounds) — two minutes per set, with two-minute breaks between each set.

The above recommendations are based on the methods incorporated in the latest 2024 study. However, the number of squat repetitions in the set or the number of sets can be increased or decreased based on your capacity, as long as it doesn’t negatively affect your sleep quality.

Other exercises that can improve sleep

While they target multiple muscle groups simultaneously, squats are not the only exercise that can be performed at night. Other light exercises can be incorporated into your night routine.

Simple bedtime workouts

Some simple bedtime workouts are listed below.

• Yoga stretches. Practicing yoga has been shown to increase feelings of relaxation and decrease irritability. Therefore, light yoga stretches, such as child’s pose, forward bends, or downward dog pose, could promote relaxation before bed.
• Light core exercises. The core muscles in the abdomen are engaged during a squat. Therefore, light core exercises, such as planks or reverse crunches, could be performed before bed to gently engage the core muscles.
• Light aerobic exercises. Walking or slow jogging in place are examples of light aerobic exercises. According to a 2021 study, light aerobic exercise improved sleep quality among community-dwelling older people, albeit with a small effect.

Additional tips to improve sleep quality

In addition to the light exercises, there are extra steps you can take to improve your overall sleep quality.

Create a relaxing sleep environment

Melatonin is released in response to darkness, which helps us to fall asleep. Low melatonin levels in the evening may delay our circadian rhythm, resulting in difficulties falling asleep. Therefore, keeping your room cool, quiet, and dark could potentially help improve sleep quality.

Noise, specifically white noise, is considered a good sleeping aid. A study on people living in a high-noise environment in New York City showed that white noise significantly improved sleep quality. However, a 2021 systematic review showed that there is very low-quality evidence to support this assumption.

Blue light is known to reduce melatonin secretion, which dysregulates the circadian rhythm and may delay the circadian clock, making it difficult to fall asleep. Hence, blue light leads to decreased sleep quality and duration. Because of this, it is advisable to limit screen time before bed to avoid exposure to the blue light emitted from digital screens.

Establish a consistent sleep routine

Consistency is key. Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, even on weekends, can help establish a consistent routine.

Adopt practices like reading, journaling, or meditating, to help you develop a wind-down routine. This could inform your body that it’s time to sleep.

Who should avoid night squats?

Individuals with joint pain or any other type of physical pain should consult with a healthcare professional before doing squats. Although some evidence suggests that resistance training might improve joint pain, it may also worsen it for some individuals.

Overtraining and sleep disruption

Lengthy, intense evening exercises lasting more than 90 minutes cause poor sleep quality, likely due to overstimulation and endorphin release. Excessively frequent exercise has been linked with sleep disruption. Therefore, avoid too much exercise close to bedtime by sticking to a moderate and consistent routine to avoid restlessness.

The low-down of night squats on sleep quality

The 2024 study has shown that regular light exercise like squats before sleep may potentially improve sleep quality by providing approximately 30 minutes of extra sleep. It doesn’t have to be a squat that you incorporate into your bedtime ritual; explore other light exercises like yoga, planks, or calf raises to find the right one for your sleep improvement.

Whichever light exercise you choose to add to your bedtime ritual, ensure to track your sleep improvements. It should be noted that the method applied in the study is limited: it was performed on only 28 individuals who were sitting for only four hours. This method may not correctly correspond with real-life scenarios where people typically spend an entire day sitting or standing.