This is the eternal question of fitness enthusiasts: should you train in the morning or in the evening? While both have benefits, a new study suggests that working out during a specific time slot may be better for your heart health. Read on to find out more.
What is the role of physical activity in heart health?
While many people are aware of the link between cardiovascular disease and lifestyle factors such as diet and smoking, the role of physical activity is often underestimated. Still, being physically active is one of the best things you can do for your heart health. Regular exercise helps keep your heart muscle strong and efficient and can also help lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Also, physical activity promotes weight loss, which is beneficial because being overweight is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. With so many benefits, it’s no wonder the American Heart Association recommends healthy adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week.
Morning or evening, physical exercise can be beneficial at any time.
Although many people think of exercise as something to do in the morning to start the day, there are many benefits to exercising in the evening as well. First, exercising at night can help you relax and sleep better. A study published in the journal Sleep found that people who exercised at moderate intensity for 30 minutes three times a week slept better than those who did no exercise at all. And better sleep means more energy to exercise the next day.
Also, people who exercise in the evening tend to be more diligent than those who exercise in the morning. Life can be unpredictable, and it’s often easier to find time for a workout later in the day when you have more control over your schedule. Additionally, exercising before bed can help offset late-night cravings by increasing levels of the satiety hormone. Whether you’re morning or evening, there’s no bad time to get moving and improve your health.
If working out at night could give you a good night’s sleep, working out in the morning could protect your heart, according to a new study.
According to a study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, morning physical exercise can help protect the heart against strokes and heart attacks. The study looked at data from 86,657 adults aged 42 to 78 who did not have cardiovascular disease at baseline. The participants wore a bracelet connected to the wrist for 7 successive days and were divided, on the basis of the data, into 4 groups: those who exercised the most in the evening, early in the morning, in the afternoon and in end of the mornng. The results showed that people who exercised early in the morning had a much lower risk of heart disease than those who exercised later in the day. The advantages were particularly listed among women and among both early risers and night owls.
So what’s the most beneficial time slot to benefit from physical activity while looking after heart health?
Study author and PhD student Gali Albalak and her associates used a national health registry to study whether the time of day people exercise affects their risk of heart attack or stroke. They followed participants for 8 years and found that those who exercised between 9 and 11 a.m. had a lower risk of heart attack and stroke than those who exercised at other times. the day.
The results were rational regardless of the frequency of physical activity, even for people who exercised very little, as well as biological time, since some describe themselves as early risers, while others are night owls. When the results were analyzed by sex, the researchers deduced that they were valid for both men and women. These results suggest that exercising in the morning may be more beneficial than exercising at other times of the day in terms of reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke.
According to Gali, the beneficial effect of morning training on heart health comes down to the circadian rhythm.
To explain this difference, according to author Gali Albalak, it all comes down to the circadian rhythm. Our bodies are designed to sleep at night and be active during the day, and when we disrupt this natural cycle by exercising at other times of the day, it may not be as beneficial for heart health. Of course, that doesn’t mean that afternoon or evening workouts aren’t beneficial, just that they aren’t comparable to morning workouts.
The circadian rhythm is our body’s natural way of telling time, and it affects everything from our sleep patterns to our hormone levels. When we exercise in the morning, it helps “reset” our circadian rhythm, which can have a positive impact on our heart health.
