There is ample scientific evidence that physical exercise It has positive consequences on practically our entire body. Manuel Landecho, specialist in Internal Medicine at the Checkup Unit at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra (CUN), assures that it is “the magic wand” and Carlos Lariño, doctor at the Muscle Injuries and Sports Medicine Unit at the Quirón Hospital in A Coruña, states that it is “the best medicine in the world”. The two experts emphasize that Sports practice reduces cholesterol, helps control diabetes and tension, promotes sleep quality, increases bone strength and densityand is part of the recipe for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
There are many theories about the most favorable time to do physical exercise and it is a question that has caused rivers of ink to flow. The main recommendation is that sports practice is not casual but routine and choose the time of day that facilitates the adoption of this healthy habit.
Anyway, each schedule has its advantages. The first one on tomorrow’s schedule has to do with the quality of sleep. “It is indisputable that doing physical exercise in the morning improves sleep quality“, defends Manuel Landecho. Exercising in the afternoon causes the body to reach bedtime activated: “However, if we do it in the morning, we accumulate the physical fatigue of the entire day and sleep is more restorative.”
At this stage There is no longer any doubt about the positive consequences of sport on mental health. They increase the commonly called “happiness hormones”, such as endorphins, serotonin or dopamine. And it is precisely in this area where experts point out the second benefit of morning hours: “Sports in the morning help us better manage stress of the day ahead of us,” explains Landecho.
The cortisol spike
The peak of cortisol that occurs in our body in the morning points to the third advantage, as Carlos Lariño points out: “Cortisol, which is known as the stress hormone, It makes us more attentive, alert, and the sympathetic system is more activated, which is what affects the musculoskeletal system, the cardiac system and the respiratory system. Therefore, the body is more predisposed to sport”
Although Landecho expresses some doubt that there is a direct relationship between the morning cortisol peak and the ability to exercise, he believes that afternoon fatigue can cause the intensity to drop, “so exercising in the morning is more efficient”.
Weightloss
Lariño adds a fourth benefit to practicing sports in the morning, which has to do with weight loss. As long as it is done after a light breakfast, which means that the amount of sugar in the blood is low: “Training with low blood sugar causes all fat deposits to be activated.”so you burn more calories and lose more weight.”
Both experts insist on the importance of physical exercise becoming a habit. The last and fifth advantage of the morning schedule is that it helps establish routines: “If you train in the morning, you have already done it. In the afternoon you are more tired and things can always arise, work meetings, problems with the family, etc.,” says the Quirón specialist.
These benefits point to a profile of people more inclined to morning sports: those who have a circadian rhythm in the morning, “the larks”, as Lariño graphically notes, who go to bed early and get up early, those who have trouble sleeping and those who are more interested in losing weight.
