Regular exercise is a powerful tool to boost your health and wellbeing, including your sleep quality (14). Contrary to older beliefs that warned against exercising before bed, newer research suggests that moderate-intensity exercise before bed isn’t harmful and can actually be beneficial for sleep (35,36).

In addition, physical activity can help to regulate your circadian rhythms, which is particularly beneficial for shiftworkers, as the requirements of your job can disrupt these rhythms, leading to a range of health and wellbeing problems. Regular physical activity, especially in bright sunlight, can help your circadian rhythms to align with a traditional sleep/wake cycle. However, it’s important to remember that exposure to bright light can be alerting, so exercise in sunlight when you need to stay awake (i.e., transitioning onto your days off or before a shift), rather than before sleep. Read more about your exercise environment here.