Some people can get out of bed at 6am and start their day right away, while others prefer to wake up later because they are most productive in the afternoon or evening. This difference is due to your chronotype, your biological tendency to prefer certain times of the day for sleep, wakefulness, and activity.
“The Conversation” by Paul Huff
However, this is not the only factor affected by chronotype. A growing body of research also suggests that chronotype can influence the benefits you get from exercise.
People who naturally wake up early and are most alert in the morning are “early chronotypes,” while people who prefer to wake up later and function best in the afternoon or evening are “late chronotypes.” People who fall somewhere in between are called “intermediate chronotypes.”
Your chronotype is determined by your circadian rhythm, your body’s natural daily cycle that repeats approximately every 24 hours. These are strongly influenced by our environment, but can function without external cues such as sunlight or food. These rhythms influence our physiology, behavior, and health.
Our circadian rhythms are controlled by the body’s circadian system, which is made up of tiny biological clocks made up of proteins in our organs and tissues. These clocks rely on genes that help us adjust when different processes occur, such as when we wake up or feel sleepy.
The circadian system also influences many other bodily functions, including blood pressure, heart rate, blood sugar regulation, and vascular function. These factors are also influenced by physical activity, which may explain why aligning your workouts to your natural chronotype is beneficial.
Some research supports this, suggesting that the time of day people exercise can influence health outcomes such as cardiovascular health and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and some cancers.
However, because these are observational studies (showing only associations, not cause and effect), they cannot conclusively prove that the results were caused solely by the timing of the exercise.
However, a recent randomized controlled trial investigated whether tailoring your workouts to your chronotype can make exercise more effective. Researchers looked specifically at people at risk for cardiovascular disease.
Participants were grouped according to chronotype, which was measured using an expert questionnaire. Morning owls exercised from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., and night owls exercised from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. A third group exercised at times opposite to their chronotype (morning types in the evening and night types in the morning).
Participants whose exercise matched their chronotype experienced greater improvements in blood pressure, aerobic fitness, blood sugar, cholesterol, and sleep than those whose training times did not match their chronotype.
But while these improvements demonstrate that timing exercise to match your chronotype can enhance your health benefits, there are some important nuances.
Even the group that exercised at the wrong time experienced health benefits, showing that exercise can be beneficial even if it doesn’t match your chronotype. The study also did not include intermediate chronotypes, which make up about 60% of the adult population. For these people, the timing of exercise may not be as important.
Based on the available evidence, exercise timing appears to be a meaningful consideration, especially for people with strong morning or evening chronotypes.
Beyond your chronotype
So how do you know your chronotype?
Most people feel this intuitively, based on the times they naturally prefer to sleep and wake up. However, work schedules and caregiving responsibilities often force us into routines that conflict with our chronotype. Over time, it becomes harder to be sure of your chronotype.
For this reason, researchers have developed a questionnaire to help determine your chronotype. The 19 questions include things like when you feel like you’re at your peak and how easy it is to wake up in the morning.
Once you have a clearer understanding of your chronotype, you can start thinking about when to schedule your workouts.
However, chronotype is not the only factor that can influence your response to training and exercise. This is great news for people who don’t have the ability to tailor their workouts to their chronotype.
For example, regardless of chronotype, body temperature typically peaks in the afternoon, when muscle function increases. This is why strength, speed, and coordination tend to be greatest in the afternoon, making it the prime time for strength training and technique practice for most people.
Your habitual training times can also change your performance over time as your body adapts to regular training times. So even if you’re a night owl by nature, a consistent morning workout may ultimately improve your performance during that time.
Another important factor to consider when deciding when to train is sleep.
If you didn’t sleep well the night before, research suggests that it’s better to exercise earlier in the day, regardless of your chronotype. This is because the urge to sleep, known as “sleep pressure,” increases steadily from the moment you wake up and peaks just before you fall asleep. Sleep pressure increases in the evening, making exercise seem more difficult and can reduce performance.
Exercising late at night can reduce the quality of your sleep, especially if your session is intense. As a general rule, leave at least two hours between exercise and bedtime.
There is no optimal time for exercise that works for everyone. Although there is growing evidence regarding the long-term health benefits of matching exercise time to chronotype, some principles apply broadly.
Peak performance varies by chronotype, and by adapting your workout times to your own time, you may be able to train harder and reap better health benefits. However, no matter the timing, exercise is better than no exercise at all.
If you’re a night owl and can only train in the morning, warming up is essential. Wear thick clothing and start with 10 to 15 minutes of light aerobic exercise to gradually warm up your body temperature and increase your alertness.
If night is your only option, choose a moderate or low-intensity activity (like yoga or jogging) to avoid disrupting your sleep.
Paul Hough is Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Physiology at the University of Westminster.
This article was republished from conversation Under Creative Commons License.
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