Doing little bursts of activity before bed can help you sleep longer, study finds

BOSTON -- Study finds that doing short bursts of activity in the evening may help you sleep longer.

In the past, exercise has often been discouraged right before bed and thought to be disruptive to sleep. However, a new study from the University of Otago in New Zealand found that periodically moving in the hours before bedtime could be beneficial.

Researchers had participants complete two four-hour sessions in the evening with either prolonged sitting or sitting interrupted by three-minute activity breaks every half hour -- including chair squats, calf raises, and standing knee raises.

They found that those who did these activity breaks, which required no equipment and could be done while still watching TV, slept 30 minutes longer. Researchers say you could probably choose to do other activities to get the same benefit, like walking around the house, marching in one spot, or even dancing in your living room.