The Early Bird Catches The Zzzs…

The perennial question of whether it’s better to work out in the morning or the evening has been the subject of recent research, this time with a focus on its effects on sleep. So, what’s the verdict?

According to researchers from Appalachian State University, it’s the early bird who catches not only the worm but also the sleep related-benefits of working out. Assistant professor and lead study author Scott Collier, PhD, said "Insufficient sleep threatens our country's health by contributing to chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity. Exercise is proven to improve the quality of sleep, and our team wanted to see if the timing of exercise could maximise these benefits."

The research team looked at the effects of exercise timing on the sleep patterns of six male and three female study participants. Each participant was monitored during half-hour treadmill sessions at 7am, 1pm and 7pm on different days. During the night following each study period, participants wore sleep-monitoring headbands to measure quality of sleep and sleep stage time.

The results showed that when exercising at 7am, the participants achieved significantly better sleep than when they worked out at lunchtime or in the evening.

Collier said, "Our research has shown that well-timed exercise can elicit even greater sleep quality. These findings – if the results of the sample hold true for the general population – can help exercisers gain even greater benefits from physical activity."

Source: ACSM

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