I came across a very interesting study in the Journal of Adolescent Health this week. 434 Swiss teenagers were studied to see what the effect of exercise on sleep patterns was. 258 of the participants were athletes, who averaged 17.7 hours/exercise a week, and 179 were non athletes, who averaged 4.7 hours/exercise a week. All of the participants kept sleep and exercise diaries for 7 consecutive days and completed a number of questionnaires about the quality of their sleep and other psychological measurements.

The researchers found that the athletes had better sleep quality, and that it took them less time to fall asleep at night than the non-athletes. The athletes also had fewer awakenings during the night than the non-athletes. The athletes were less sleepy and had better concentration during the day, as well as less anxiety and fewer depressive symptoms than the non-athletes. The findings were more pronounced in males than in females.