Even a short block stroll in the afternoon counts as exercise; it doesn't need to be organised.If you work out over the lunch hour, there may be times when you question if it's worthwhile, as you're unpacking the damp clothes from your gym bag each night. But, the results of a recent study involving over 90,000 people may encourage you to continue the good fight: Exercise in the afternoon decreases the chance of dying young more than exercise in the morning or afternoon.
According to Fatima Z. Syed, MD, an associate professor of medicine and a physician at Duke Lifestyle and Fitness Center in Durham, North Carolina, who was not involved in the research, the study, which was published on February 18 in Nature Communications, offers strong evidence that a non-drug intervention like physical activity affects health outcomes.
The study concludes that moderate to vigorous exercise (MVPA) decreases the risk of dying from cancer or cardiovascular disease. This suggests that maintaining a healthy weight is not the only factor to consider, adds Dr Syed.
Syed worries that people reading the headlines may conclude that exercise at other times is less beneficial if they cannot exercise in the afternoon. "It is not true in the slightest. According to my interpretation of these data, exercise is worthwhile in and of itself, and it's best to exercise in the afternoon, she adds.
Exercise from moderate to vigorous intensity decreases the risk of heart disease, cancer, and death from any cause.
All participants wore an accelerometer weekly, recording when and how hard they worked out while exercising.
Using that information, researchers divided people into four groups based on how often they engaged in physical activity:
From 5 a.m. to 11 a.m.
From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tonight, from 5:00 pm until 1:00 AM, a group that exercised throughout the week at various times of the day without indicating a preference for any particular hour
The investigators looked up the individuals' death records after an average of 7 years. Three thousand eighty-eight individuals (3.4%) had passed away, with 1,076 (1.2%) dying of heart disease and 1,872 (2%) dying of cancer.
The risk of early death was lower for afternoon exercisers than morning or evening exercisers.
Yet not everyone experienced the same symptoms. Exercisers who consistently altered their exercise schedule daily and worked out in the middle of the day had a reduced risk of dying overall and from heart disease than those who worked out in the early morning or late evening.
According to the authors' interpretation of the data, exercise timing may have the ability to maximise the health advantages of regular physical activity.
"The results of this sizable study support what we already know: Being more active leads to better health. According to Laura Richardson, PhD, a clinical associate professor of applied exercise science and movement science at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, "It supports what we've been trying to persuade people to do for a long time. Dr Richardson was not a part of the recent study.
According to Paul Arciero, a professor of health and human physiological sciences at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, and the author of the book The Protein Pacing Diet, these findings also give further insight into the ideal time of day for the majority of people to engage in MVPA for a longer life.
According to Dr Arciero, who was also not involved in the new study, "Intuitively, it makes logical that midday exercise reduces the risk of heart disease death and [death from] other causes. Compared to exercise at other times of the day, vigorous exercise in the morning raises the risk of a cardiovascular event like a heart attack or stroke. Moreover, vigorous exercise in the evening can disrupt sleep, which may harm the heart.
Who May Benefit Most from Afternoon Exercise?
The scientists noticed that men, the elderly, those less active, and those who already had heart disease all had a much lower risk of dying when they exercised in the afternoon.
Dr Anderson comments, "That's an interesting discovery and fits with what I see in my practice.
According to Anderson, those who were in the midday group—those who were out of shape, the elderly, and those who were already known to engage in less physical activity—often preferred midday exercise.
She says that because they feel their best in the afternoon, people who are retired, have pre-existing heart conditions, or are obese frequently an exercise in the afternoon. Their bodies are less achy because they've eaten breakfast, taken medication, and exercised.
Exercising in the afternoon may provide more benefits due to circadian rhythms
The timing of exercise may influence early death, but the study's authors don't know why. Instead, they speculate that it may be related to our bodies circadian rhythms, which are 24-hour physical, mental, and behavioural cycles.
Circadian rhythms may hold the answer. "
Our blood pressure and other chemicals, such as cortisol, rise in the morning and peak at bedtime. Perhaps we are designed to operate at our top physical capacity away from those peaks," she speculates.
According to Arciero, the body has had enough time to acclimatise to the day by the afternoon. The heart, blood vessels, hormones, muscles, joints, and nervous system are all functioning at their best throughout the afternoon, according to him, and by this time, we are typically well-nourished.
Due to all these processes being at their peak in the afternoon, Arciero claims that this is the greatest time of day to engage in strenuous exercise.
Workout in the morning might be more effective at burning fat.
This study is not the first to demonstrate that the time of exercise may affect its health effects, despite being the largest. According to a study in the December 2020 issue of Physiological Reports, participants at risk for or had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes improved their blood-sugar control better if they exercised in the afternoon rather than the morning.
Exercise time may also impact how our body burns calories and gains muscle. Arciero and his colleagues discovered that early morning exercise in women decreased total body and belly fat and enhanced the lower body muscular power of their legs in a short research published in the May 2022 issue of Frontiers in Physiology. An evening activity greatly boosted women's upper body strength, power, and endurance.
Evening exercise in men lowered fatigue and boosted fat oxidation. Additional studies have revealed higher fat burning after exercise in the morning and improved athletic and exercise performance after exercise in the late afternoon or evening, according to Arciero.
Conclusion: Work out whenever it is convenient for your lifestyle.
The optimum time to exercise is whenever you have time, according to all the experts.
"With what I've read in this post, would intense activity be preferable mid-afternoon? Sure. Does my patient, who has meetings all afternoon and only has time to exercise after the kids go to bed, have that option? No. Does the patient who works shifts and has to sleep during the day have a chance to do so? No. Syed says the optimal time to exercise for the greatest benefit is in the afternoon, assuming a patient is free.
Advice for Increasing Movement in the Afternoon
the first guideline? According to Syed, exercise does not require structure. "Just start moving. Walk briskly while on a Zoom call during your lunch breaks, or have a dance party with the kids in the middle of the day. Do what you can; every effort counts, she advises.
Arciero advises a 10- to 15-minute loop around the neighbourhood or a power stroll up and down the office stairs. According to him, body weight lunges and resistance bands can give you a brief burst of exercise and raise your heart rate if you cannot leave your desk area.
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