Fitbit study reveals that regular exercise leads to better sleep

Previous studies have shown that regular exercise can improve the quality of your sleep. However, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin decided to re-examine the relationship between exercise and sleep using Fitbit, a wearable device that can track your activity.

Move More, Sleep Better, UT Study Finds - UT News

The effects of physical activity on sleep architecture and mood in naturalistic environments | Scientific Reports
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-56332-7

Regarding exercise and sleep, previous research has shown that 'people who exercise regularly sleep better' and 'getting good sleep improves their mood.'

'While we can learn a lot from lab studies, there are limitations to studying an individual subject's sleep patterns over one night,' said study lead author Benjamin Baird of the University of Texas at Austin. 'An unfamiliar clinical environment may be stressful, and we can't monitor sleep patterns over time. So we question the generalizability of such designs.'

To take into account the 'over time' aspect of the study, 82 participants were asked to wear Fitbits to measure their activity, heart rate, and sleep over several months, and to report their happiness using a smartphone app.

The results reinforce previous findings that both low- and moderate-intensity physical activity lead to better, restorative sleep, which in turn leads to more energy and less stress the next morning.

David M. Schneer, co-author of the paper, praised Fitbit's contribution, saying, 'We've shown that Fitbit, which anyone can use, can measure this type of sleep architecture without the need for expensive scientific equipment. The world is now at our fingertips. With Fitbit, we can study a variety of sleep architecture data related to lifestyle habits and other factors in the field, rather than in a lab, something that was previously thought impossible.'