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Is it the mystery for you why people exercise in the morning hours? You don’t see the meaning in the morning waking up and consequential training? Out of this reason, we prepared the article for you which will maybe change your aspect on exercising in the morning hours. The morning training can improve the life quality of the physical and psychical side. Explore all the reasons in the following lines why to begin to exercise in the morning.
The benefits of the morning training
1. It increases activity during the whole day
Many of us can’t imagine the morning without a cup of coffee after which they feel ready for the all-day responsibilities. Have you tried decent morning training instead of coffee? The results of the study proved that 10 minutes of walking the stairs will supply you with more energy than 1 cup of coffee. We don’t want to say that you shouldn’t drink coffee but to combine the caffeine receive with physical activity which can energize you even more. [4] [5] [6]
The morning training belongs to the best waysto keep the energy for the whole day. Your body and mind will handle everyday tasks better thanks to it. During the training, the lungs and heart are supplied by oxygen and nutrients which improve the resistance and performance of the organism. By increasing the energy, you reduce tiredness and you get rid of fatigue. [5] [6]
2. It improves good mood
It is scientifically proven that exercising improves mood and is prosperous in the fight against depression and anxiety. The endorphins which reduce stress and pain are egested from the body after training. The word “endorphine” is composed of the terms – endogenic which means in the organism, and morphine. Endorphins have the similar effect in our body such as category of drugs called opioids. In medicine, opioids are used because they evoke a feeling of euphoria and reduce pain. [13]
The endorphins are egested without regard of the time of training. The morning exercising will cause that you will come to work happier and during the day, you will be in a good mood. If you train in the evening and then you go sleep, the effects of endorphins will be enjoyed less than after morning work-out. [1]
3. It supports sleep quality
According to the results of the study from the year 2014, the morning training has a positive effect on the sleep. The participants of the research mentioned that they were sleeping better during training days when they exercised at 7:00 am. Their deep sleep lasted longer and the night wake up wasn’t happening that often. Besides that, falling asleep lasted a shorter time.
There is another benefit related to sleeping which is associated with melatonin – sleep hormone. Its task is to get the body into relaxing phase in order to fall asleep better in the evening. Beining on the morning light increases the melatonine level during the night. It means that morning training on the fresh air will support the speed of the evening falling asleep. Try to change the treadmill in the gym for the morning run on your street. [5]
The exactly opposite effect on sleep is when exercising in the evening and night hours. Your body is in “activated condition”, has higher temperature and the mind is still stimulated after exercising. Out of this reason, it can happen that you will have difficulties to fall asleep because your mind is not tired enough. [1]
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4. It increases concentration
The important benefit of the morning training is that it will help you to stimulate blood circulation and to improve the flow of blood into the brain. Just 30 minutes of training will cause that your brain will begin to work more quality and will happen more resistant toward disturbing influences. Thanks to the morning exercising, your memory, ability to solve problems and concentration will get better. [1] [17]
It was confirmed by the research which had tested the impacts of the morning exercising on the improvement of the cognitive abilities. 65 women and men joined the research. The task of the participants was to spend 30 minutes on the treadmill in the morning and to take 3 minutes break for walking every half an hour during the day. The combination of these activities was proved as the best way to improve executive functions such as [14] [15]:
- flexibility
- time orientation
- thinking
- planning
- deciding
Mostly the period between 25 and 45 years of life is key for exercising because the brain loses its vitality over time and after 45 year of life, there is reduction of the cognitive abilities. The regular training improves activity of chemical substances in the brain and helps to prevent degeneration of the hippocampus which participates on the processing of information during learning, memory and space navigation. [7] [8]
5. It maintains blood pressure and sugar under control
High blood pressure is very spread cardiovascular disease. Hypertension influences 20 – 50% of the adult population in developed countries. Only a small percentage of people suffering hypertension have this disease under control. In the countries of the middle Europe, 20 – 25 % patients can maintain their blood pressure under control with the help of the treatment. [5] [9]
The study of the year 2014 examined the influence of exercise on the blood pressure. The participants were divided into three groups, while each group was exercising in different time – at 7:00 am, 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm. The research proved markedly better results in the group which was exercising at 7:00 am. [5]
Besides blood pressure, the morning exercising is prosperous for maintaining of the optimal sugar level in the blood. During the day, the sugar level changes which is caused by food receive and lifestyle. After eating, sugar increases in the blood and when there is non sufficient amount of nutrients, it decreases. To have the optimal sugar content in the blood is important for everyone because high or low sugar level in the blood endangers human health. Training before the noon can help you to get sugar in the blood into optimal level. The study of 2015 concentrated on the comparison of the morning and evening training and their influence on the risk of hypoglycemia within people with 1. type diabetes. The results proved lower risk of creation of low sugar level in the blood during the morning work-out. [5] [10]
6. It increases cortisol and testosterone level
Our body egests hormones in various time intervals, that’s why it is suitable to set the training according to it. Cortisol, hormone of stress, begins to egest in the early morning hours and its level decreases in the evening. The study of the 2008 considers the morning work-out as the great way of increasing cortisol level which causes the feeling of awake since morning.
Besides cortisol, the morning training influences also another important hormone – testosterone. This hormone has an impact on many life functions within men, for instance, it supplies energy and is responsible for the muscle growth. testosterone level is higher in one third before noon than in the noon or in the evening. [11] [12]
7. Nothing will disturb you
Hand on heart, how many times do you take the mobile phone into your hand and chat with friends or colleagues during training? Did you know that doing other activities during training lowers the effectivity of the training and motivation to train? If you can’t leave your phone locked in locker, try the morning training. It is less probable that you will receive emails, SMS or phone calls. You don’t call anyone at 6 am, do you? [5] [16]
Disturbing element during training can be also your sparring partner. That’s why you should be careful and not let your talking and fun to distract you during training. If your main goal is to exercise fairly, you shouldn’t let anyone and anything to disturb you and the morning training is completely ideal for that. [3]
8. You will build self-discipline
To start a day with morning training requires change in lifestyle. Besides early waking up, you need to adjust time of sleeping in the evening because non sufficient sleep and tiredness can lower your motivation to train in the morning. It wants discipline, endurance and time until your morning exercising becomes routine. The study of 2010 mentions that our organism needs 66 days for making a habit out of something. Your morning training will become a matter of course approximately after 2 months. Tips how to build self-discipline can be also found in our article 6 steps to iron self-discipline for achieving your fitness goals. [6]
According to American Council for Exercise (ACE), people who exercise in the morning are more rigorous during training and they train more frequently. On the opposite, the evening training can be influenced by tiredness, disgust, obligations or other excuses. Try to prevent these negative factors the way you move your work-out on the morning hour. [2]
9. More space in the gym
You definitely know the time when there are the most people in the gym and you have to wait for free fitness machines. In general, the evenings and afternoons are more popular for training than mornings. Mostly during the weekend, people prefer sleeping, shopping and other activities instead of the morning training. If you belong to the fans of empty fitness centers, we recommend to wake up earlier and to give a chance to the morning exercising.
We believe that after reading this article, you have explored 9 reasons why to exercise in the morning and that you will try the morning training. Write us to the comments whether you like to train in the morning or in the evening. If you like the article, support it by sharing.
[1] 10 Benefits Of Working Out In The Morning That Will Have You Getting Up At Dawn – https://www.fitandme.com/benefits-of-working-out-in-the-morning/
[2] Zainab Mudallal - There’s A Big Difference Between Working Out In The Morning And At Night – https://www.elitedaily.com/life/theres-big-difference-working-morning-night/1035312
[3] Melih F. Cologlu - 8 Benefits To Working Out In The Morning [https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/8-benefits-to-working-out-in-the-morning.html
[4] Monique Tello - Exercise versus caffeine: Which is your best ally to fight fatigue? – https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/exercise-versus-caffeine-which-is-your-best-ally-to-fight-fatigue-2017060811843
[5] Daniel Bubnis - 13 Benefits of Working Out in the Morning – https://www.healthline.com/health/exercise-fitness/working-out-in-the-morning#benefits
[6] Robyn Whalen - 6 Amazing Benefits of Morning Exercise – https://info.totalwellnesshealth.com/blog/6-amazing-benefits-of-morning-exercise
[7] Sophia Breene - 13 Mental Health Benefits Of Exercise – https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mental-health-benefits-exercise_n_2956099
[8] Sanchari Sinha Dutta - Hippocampus Functions – https://www.news-medical.net/health/Hippocampus-Functions.aspx
[9] Agata Bielecka-Dabrowa, Wilbert S. Aronow, Jacek Rysz, and Maciej Banach - The Rise and Fall of Hypertension: Lessons Learned from Eastern Europe – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3068519/
[10] Ana Maria Gomez, Claudia Gomez, Pablo Aschner, Angelica Veloza, Oscar Muñoz, Claudia Rubio, Santiago Vallejo - Effects of Performing Morning Versus Afternoon Exercise on Glycemic Control and Hypoglycemia Frequency in Type 1 Diabetes Patients on Sensor-Augmented Insulin Pump Therapy – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604526/
[11] MEN'S HEALTH - Should I Work out in the Morning or the Evening? We Looked at the Science – https://www.menshealth.com/uk/building-muscle/a755788/morning-vs-evening-workouts-which-is-better/
[12] Adam Barsouk - I'm convinced that exercising in the morning has transformed my productivity, and research backs me up – https://www.businessinsider.com/how-morning-exercise-can-increase-productivity-2018-11
[13] Jennifer Berry - Endorphins: Effects and how to increase levels – https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320839.php
[14] Christopher Bergland - Morning Exercise May Improve Decision-Making During the Day – https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201904/morning-exercise-may-improve-decision-making-during-the-day
[15] Executive Functions – https://www.neuronup.com/en/areas/functions/executive
[16] Arti Patel - 5 reasons why it’s better to work out in the morning – https://globalnews.ca/news/4692510/morning-workout-routine/
[17] Karen Postal - Think Better: Exercise – http://www.karenpostal.com/exercise-think-better/