[PuppyTailWags]

Helpful to know: Exercising hard in general I think is helpful. I am not a morning person but I sleep extremely well when I go climbing in the gym for ~2 hrs or so in the evenings, after dinner. I pretty much have dinner, go there, warm up and climb, go back, shower and sleep, and that guarantees a deep sleep for me. I also tend to wake up with a clear head and can easily solve stuff I was struggling with the day before.

[dkersten]

I’m also not a morning person, but another reason why hard exercise wouldn’t work for me, in the morning, is that after hard exercise it takes a few hours for my brain to function properly again (someone on HN a few months ago explained its because the body prioritises getting oxygen to the muscles instead of to the brain). At least, I’m unable to work for a while after going to the gym. For this reason, I bow only go to the gym after work.

Light exercise like going for a walk is ok though.

[Swizec]

Another benefit of gym/exercise after work: Makes a great barrier between work life and home life. Ensures you don’t bring work home.

And if you work from an office “I have gym at X hour” is a super socially acceptable reason to leave on time. Nobody questions a gym schedule. Especially if you have a class.

[dkersten]

Those are some great points!

[gmadsen]

just food for thought, there is quite a bit of research showing that hard exercise right before bed is not optimal. i think its fair to say any is better than none, and if it works for you, it works for you. but the argument is that hard exercise raises you metabolism and body temperature, which is in direct opposition of what your body needs to do to enter deep sleep (lower body temperature)

[s1artibartfast]

Not sure what optimal means in this context. Optimizing for how fast you fall asleep?

[gmadsen]

sure, how fast you enter deep restorative sleep. If you measure your HRV, you can definitely see the effect