Findings from a recent Stanford University Medical School study may come as no surprise: older and middle-age people reported sleeping better when they added regular exercise to their routine. After 16 weeks in a moderate intensity exercise program, subjects were able to fall asleep about 15 minutes earlier and sleep about 45 minutes longer at night.

Researchers selected 29 women and 14 men with mild sleep complaints for a 16-week controlled study. All participants were age 50 to 74, lived sedentary lives, and suffered no cardiovascular disease, stroke or other clinically diagnosed disorder known to cause sleep disorders. All were non-smokers and moderate drinkers. None were seriously overweight or taking hormone replacement therapy, sleep medications or other medications known to affect sleep.