Beware Of The Dangers Of Doing High Intensity Sports When Lack Of Sleep

Illustration of sleep shortages. (Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio

JAKARTA - Sports can provide many benefits for the body, one of which is improving sleep quality. This is because with exercise, blood flow is smooth and can make sleep sound.

Regular sports can improve the quality of your sleep, said sirkadian and neuroscience neuroscientist Jeffrey Durmer, MD, PhD, quoted from Self, on Thursday, September 11, 2025.

"This is partly due to the fact that regular physical activity triggers adenosine buildup in your bloodstream, a neurotransmitter that encourages sound sleep and high quality," he added.

However, the condition of the body to exercise must be considered. If you are sleep deprived, then the types and intensity of the selected sport should be those that do not burden the body.

According to Durmer, the neuromuscular system does not work well when a person is sleep deprived. This means that muscles become tired quickly and the body's balance can be disrupted.

This creates high-intensity exercises such as lifting weights, squats or deadlifts, which can be at high risk of causing injury. Intensive cardio exercises such as sprint running, fast cycling, are also not recommended if you lack sleep.

Not only that, lack of sleep can also worsen the function of cardiovascular systems, so intense exercise can trigger a spike in blood pressure and a heart rate is too high. This can also cause abnormal heart rhythms or rhythms to occur more frequently.

"When people are sleep deprived, things like arrhythmia (the abnormal heart rhythm) are more common," said Durmer.

Therefore, if you are sleepless at night and still want to exercise the stress of the day, choose exercise with light to moderate intensity. Some of them are light jogging, leisurely cycling, to swimming.

The duration of the sport should also not take too long, it takes about 30 to 45 minutes. In this way, the body can still get good sports benefits and return to help you sleep well without endangering your health.