If you do one thing this week...take exercise to help you sleep

We all know that regular exercise is good for our hearts and waistlines – but it could also help us sleep well at night and feel more alert during the day, according to new findings from the US.

The study, which analysed data from more than 3,000 adults, interviewed participants about their sleep and alertness levels and then asked them to wear an accelerometer for a week to track their physical activity.

"Our key finding was that participants who engaged in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity per week or a combination of the two, were less likely to: feel overly sleepy during the day, have leg cramps while sleeping, and have difficulty concentrating when tired, compared with participants not meeting this level of physical activity," write the authors in the December edition of Mental Health and Physical Activity.