© Ron Lach
July 15, 2026
Marianne Waldenfels
A study from New Zealand suggests that people who regularly interrupt prolonged sitting with three minutes of light movement during the four hours before bedtime sleep an average of around 30 minutes longer
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Many people spend the last few hours before bed almost entirely sitting — on the sofa, in front of the TV, or at a desk. A new study from New Zealand now suggests that even short movement breaks in the four hours before bedtime could improve sleep.
Participants in the study slept an average of about half an hour longer on nights when they had regularly interrupted prolonged sitting with a few minutes of movement.
For a long time, the rule has been: no intense exercise shortly before bedtime, because an elevated body temperature and heart rate can impair sleep quality. A team led by doctoral candidate Jennifer Gale and lead study author Dr. Meredith Peddie from the Department of Human Nutrition at the University of Otago set out to discover whether this rule also applies to very brief, light bouts of movement.
On two separate evenings, participants spent the four hours before bedtime under controlled laboratory conditions. On one evening they sat continuously; on the other, they interrupted their sitting every 30 minutes for three minutes with simple bodyweight exercises: chair squats, calf raises, and standing knee raises with a straight leg.
Sleep duration and sleep quality were then objectively measured using a wrist-worn activity sensor (actigraphy). The study included 28 predominantly young women with an average age of 25.
After evenings with regular movement breaks, participants slept an average of about 30 minutes longer than after evenings of continuous sitting.
Neither sleep quality nor the frequency of nighttime wake periods changed measurably. According to lead researcher Jennifer Gale, this is likely because the activities were very brief and light, rather than longer or more intense exercise.
The study does not offer a clear explanation for the observed effect. However, the authors point to earlier research conducted by their group.
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That research found that regularly breaking up prolonged periods of sitting can reduce post-meal spikes in blood sugar and blood lipid levels and have a beneficial effect on metabolism. It is therefore possible that the body also benefits from regular light movement in the evening.
What seems to matter less is athletic performance, and more the simple avoidance of long, uninterrupted sitting.
Many sleep guidelines currently advise against physical activity in the hours before going to bed. This is based on the concern that a rise in body temperature and heart rate could delay or disrupt sleep. The Otago study suggests that this concern applies primarily to longer or more intense exercise sessions — not to minute-long movement breaks using only body weight.
According to Peddie, it is well established that a high level of physical activity spread throughout the day is generally associated with better sleep. The current data suggest that evening movement need not be avoided outright, as long as it remains brief and light. The research group recommends that existing guidelines be reviewed in light of these findings.
Interesting as these results are, they should be interpreted with caution. The study included only 28 predominantly young women. Whether men, older adults, or people with sleep disorders would benefit similarly cannot be concluded from this data.
Furthermore, each participant spent only two evenings under controlled laboratory conditions. Whether the observed effect holds in everyday life over weeks or months remains to be demonstrated by larger studies.
The study therefore provides a promising signal, but not yet a basis for universally applicable recommendations.
According to the researchers, what matters less is the specific exercises chosen and more the regular interruption of prolonged sitting. Alternatives to the exercises used in the study include:
• walking around the home for a few minutes
• marching in place
• light dancing to music
• simple stretching and mobility exercises
• chair squats, calf raises, or standing knee raises
The key, it seems, is simply to regularly break up an evening in front of the TV or at the desk with brief moments of movement — no equipment or extra space required.
The data are not yet sufficient to fundamentally revise existing sleep recommendations. They do, however, offer an interesting signal: people who spend most of their evening sitting could benefit from regularly getting up and moving lightly for a few minutes. Whether this simple habit also improves sleep over the long term remains to be shown by further studies.
