Exercising close to bedtime is OK, sleep experts say

Exercising close to bedtime isn't as bad for you as some people might think, according to a USA Today article.

"Jogging at midnight? Walking in the moonlight?

"If late night exercise works for you, just do it. That's new advice from a leading sleep group and other experts in sleep and exercise, all of whom say it's time to throw out the old rule that you should never exercise in the hours just before bedtime.

"Most people can sleep just fine after a workout, say experts from the National Sleep Foundation, relying on evidence from a growing body of research and a new poll. The 2013 Sleep in America Poll, out today, finds people who exercise at any time of day report sleeping better and feeling more rested than those who don't exercise. It also finds people who exercise in the last four hours before bedtime report sleeping just as well as those exercising earlier in the day.

"'The timing of exercise ought to be driven by when the pool's lap lane is open or when your tennis partner is available or when you have time to get away from work, not by some statement that has never been validated,' says Barbara Phillips, a University of Kentucky sleep medicine specialist who worked on the poll."

Read more about exercising at nighttime on USA Today.