Hit the gym before work? Dutch research reveals: "8-11 a.m." is the best time to exercise
Should exercise be done in the morning or evening to bring the greatest benefits to physical health? The latest research published in the “European Journal of Preventive Cardiology” indicates that exercise behavior between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. has the greatest benefit in preventing the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke, and early morning exercise can be seen regardless of race, gender and age. Benefits for cardiovascular health.
Can morning exercise help protect the heart and prevent stroke? Dutch study: Exercise between 8 and 11 a.m. is most beneficial
The Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands analyzed data from 86,657 people from the UK Biobank. The average age fell around 62 years old, and about 58% of them were women. After 6 years of random interviews, the research team captured the subjects’ daily exercise time and its impact on cardiovascular disease. Six years later, 2,911 subjects had developed coronary artery disease and 796 subjects had suffered a stroke.
Research results show that among people with cardiovascular disease, those who exercise between 8 and 11 a.m. have a 16% lower risk of coronary artery disease, a 17% lower risk of stroke, and a 21% lower risk of ischemic stroke. In this study, women benefited more from morning exercise, with their risk of coronary heart disease reduced by 24%. Morning exercise can still improve cardiovascular health in men, but the effect does not appear to be as significant as in women.
In addition, research also points out that morning exercise behavior is also related to the metabolic health, decreased BMI, blood sugar stability and increased insulin sensitivity of the elderly, which may help improve or prevent the occurrence of diabetes. Gali Albalak, study author and MD of Leiden University in the Netherlands, said that this study is the largest prospective study to date, and combined with data from the British Biobank, it helps to clarify the cardiovascular benefits of morning exercise.
Is the “best time” to exercise after 6:30 pm? Study: Diabetic patients are better at controlling sugar and losing weight
However, a study published in Diabetologia had completely different results. The Australian Catholic University research team recruited 24 overweight men who had sedentary habits for long periods of time and tested their health conditions such as cholesterol and blood sugar control. The research team arranged a high-fat meal as the subjects’ main meal every day to understand how exercise time affects their fat metabolism and blood sugar control.
After the subjects consumed high-fat foods for 5 days, the team divided them into three groups: a group that exercised at 6:30 a.m. every day, a group that exercised at 6:30 p.m., and a group that did not exercise at all. The experimental results found that the group that exercised at 6:30 every morning did not have lower cholesterol, and even had little difference compared with the non-exercise group; while the group that exercised at 6:30 in the evening had significantly lower cholesterol and cardiovascular disease. They are healthier than other groups, and their body’s blood sugar control ability is also the best when going to bed at night.
Trine Moholdt, an exercise scientist who led the study, said that the experimental results prove that exercising in the evening may be particularly beneficial for people with high cholesterol diets, while exercising in the morning has limited effects; however, this does not mean that exercising in the morning is not beneficial. The study was only conducted on men and has not yet been further defined for women and the elderly. But in summary, some exercise is definitely better than no exercise, and everyone’s biological clock is different, so the benefits of evening exercise cannot be generalized.
“It doesn’t mean that men should exercise in the evening or that women should exercise in the morning. Exercise that matches your own physiological operation mode can also achieve a slimming effect. If you have obesity-related problems, of course it is best to exercise in the morning and evening. In addition, it is best to exercise in the morning and evening. “The research still has certain limitations. In the future, we hope to explore the connection between morning and evening exercise and obesity and diabetes through trials with a higher sample size,” Moholdt said.
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