Poor quality sleep can shave years off your life, and these effects may be magnified if you don't get enough physical activity.

That's the bad news. The good news is that getting more exercise may help counter some of the health risks known to accompany poor quality sleep, new research shows.

Folks who scored low in both sleep and exercise categories were 57% more likely to die from heart disease, stroke and cancer over more than a decade of follow-up when compared with those who reported getting better sleep and more exercise.

Physical inactivity seems to amplify the health risks of poor sleep patterns in a synergistic way," said study co-author Emmanuel Stamatakis.

The mortality risk from physical inactivity and poor sleep combined is larger than the sum of the separate risks of poor sleep and physical inactivity," added Stamatakis, a professor of physical activity, lifestyle and population health at the University of Sydney in Australia.

But getting at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week seems to dampen these effects, he said.

The study wasn't designed to say how, or even if, poor sleep and lack of exercise work together, but researchers do have their theories.

Read more: https://meziesblog.com/can-exercise-reduce-the-effects-of-poor-sleep/