„Adolescent regular exercisers are better human beings!“

Objective: Sleep is crucial for psychological functioning and daily performance. Both lay and scientific opinion hold that physical activity encourages restorative sleep. However, research on this in adolescence is limited. The aim of the present study was to compare sleep-EEG patterns of regular exercisers and controls. Method: A total 38 adolescents (age: M=18.7 SD=0.4) took part in the study. Of these, 17 were regular exercisers, and 21 were low exercisers. Mean weekly exercising was 8.5h for regular, and 2h for irregular exercisers. Sleep-EEG recordings were performed following a day without exercise. Moreover, participants completed several questionnaires regarding their own psychological functioning. Results: Regular exercisers had increased deep sleep, and decreased light sleep and REM-sleep. Weekly hours of exercise correlated with increased deep sleep and decreased light sleep. Compared to irregular exercisers, regular exercisers reported increased scores of positive coping strategies and curiosity, and decreased scores of depressive symptoms and somatosensory amplifications. Conclusions: Our results suggest that even regular, though not vigorous, exercising is related to improved objectively assessed sleep patterns and to favorable psychological functioning. However, the direction of relation between exercise, sleep, and psychological functioning remains unclear.