There’s no question that exercise is good for your health, it boosts your mood, supports your heart, and helps keep your body in shape. But if you’re someone who squeezes in a workout late at night, it might be worth rethinking your schedule.
A large-scale new study suggests that getting sweaty too close to bedtime could be messing with your sleep more than you realise. Researchers analysed data from nearly 15,000 people and found a clear link between evening workouts, particularly those that are high-intensity and poor sleep quality. The findings show that people who exercised within four hours of going to bed were more likely to experience delayed sleep onset, reduced total sleep time, and elevated resting heart rates throughout the night.
That’s significant, because it challenges the previously accepted idea that only the final two hours before bed were a potential danger zone for fitness fanatics. This new research expands that window, raising questions about how much recovery time the body really needs before it can wind down for rest.
The issue lies in how the body responds to intense physical activity. High-intensity workouts raise core body temperature, increase adrenaline, and elevate the heart rate, all of which can disrupt the body’s natural wind-down process. Instead of shifting into rest mode, your body stays alert, active, and amped-up well past your workout’s end, and that’s hardly ideal when you’re trying to drift off into a deep, restorative sleep.
Of course, not everyone responds the same way, some people can hit the gym late and still sleep like a rock. But for many, evening workouts may quietly be contributing to those frustrating nights of tossing and turning, if you’ve been struggling to get quality sleep, it might be worth taking a closer look at when you’re exercising.
Not inherently bad, many studies have shown that moderate-intensity exercise in the evening doesn’t negatively impact sleep, potential sleep benefit and some research suggests that evening workouts can actually improve sleep quality by increasing deep sleep and potentially helping you fall asleep faster.
Vigorous exercise and sleep and intense exercise, especially close to bedtime, can raise your heart rate and body temperature, which can make it harder to fall asleep or lead to sleep disturbances. Individual differences, people respond differently to nighttime workouts, and some individuals might find it easier to wind down and sleep after evening exercise than others.
Experts now recommend shifting workouts to earlier in the day — ideally morning or early afternoon — to give your body enough time to cool down and relax. If evenings are your only option, aim for lighter, low-impact movement such as yoga, stretching, or a brisk walk, rather than heavy weightlifting or high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Also, paying attention to your sleep data — if you use a tracker — can help you notice patterns and pinpoint what’s working (or not). Best practices, if you choose to work out at night, it’s generally recommended to avoid strenuous activity within 1-2 hours of bedtime.
It’s also a good idea to build in a cool-down after your workout to help your body ease back into a resting state. The bottom line: when you exercise could be just as crucial as how you exercise. So if you’re nailing everything else during the day but still waking up groggy and drained. A simple schedule shift could be the key to unlocking better sleep — and feeling even better the next day.
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