Final answer:
Physical activity improves the quality and duration of sleep by reducing stress and promoting relaxation, and is recommended over sleeping pills for insomnia. Optimal timing for exercise is a few hours before bedtime, and it also has cognitive and emotional benefits. Moreover, exercise helps in the body's restoration process after daily activities.
Step-by-step explanation:
Participation in physical activity has been shown to significantly affect sleep quality. Engaging in exercise can lead to faster sleep onset, improved sleep duration, and deeper sleep. This is largely because physical activity helps to alleviate stress and tension, promoting relaxation which is conducive to sleep. Further, exercise can enhance immune system function and decrease the risk of issues such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, which in themselves can affect sleep quality.
Specifically, optimal exercise timing is suggested to be four to eight hours before bedtime, allowing the body to wind down adequately before sleep. Heavy exercise right before bed, however, may be counterproductive. Not only does exercise improve sleep, but it also contributes to several cognitive benefits, which can include creative thinking, language learning, and better emotional processing. Exercise also contributes to well-being, happiness and helps with the regulation of sleep cycles.
Moreover, the regulation of sleep is influenced by circadian rhythms and homeostatic mechanisms. Physical activity can assist in the homeostatic regulation of sleep; after being physically active, individuals tend to experience sleep rebound, where they fall asleep more quickly. Additionally, physical exercise contributes to the body's restoration and recovery processes, and it may be predicted that more active individuals would require more sleep to recover from daily energetic demands.
Exercise is highly effective in regulating stress, which is often associated with sleep disturbances such as insomnia. It has also been observed to prevent telomere shortening, a potential sign of aging, possibly due to its effect in reducing stress levels.