To investigate the influence of different intensities and durations of exercise before bedtime on the sleep pattern and core body temperature of individuals considered good sleepers, we selected 17 healthy males and all underwent 5 nonconsecutive days of study. Measurements of polysomnographic parameters and core body temperature were taken at baseline and after each experimental protocol, performed at night. We found increased sleep efficiency (p = .016) among all protocols compared with baseline data and increase in REM sleep latency (p = .047) between two experiments; there was decrease in the percentage of stage 1 sleep (p = .046) and wake after sleep onset (p = .003). Core body temperature did not change significantly during the nights following exercise. Exercise performed before sleep does not impair sleep quality; rather, its practice improves sleep in good sleepers who are nonathletes, and may be considered to improve sleep pattern.

PurposeTo review the association between sleep duration and self-rated health.MethodsA search for original and review articles focusing on sleep duration and self-rated health was performed in PubMed. The general search strategy was [(“sleep duration” OR “total sleep time” OR “time in bed”) AND “self-rated health”].ResultsWe found 22 articles in the English language; 8 articles with no direct association between sleep duration and self-rated health were excluded. Of these articles, 14 were considered potentially relevant and examined in detail, and 9 were excluded for not having self-rated health as the primary outcome. This work was compounded by 5 papers. The extremes of sleep duration (short or long) exhibited an interaction with poor or worse self-rated health.ConclusionThe sleep duration issue should be considered when inquiring about health conditions, as this factor can lead to adverse results in global health status.