Exercise is important in protecting the heart but the timing of workouts could be important. European Society of Cardiology researchers indicates that morning exercise offers the biggest boost and produces the least risk of stroke or heart disease. 

Exercise during the early morning benefits cardiovascular health 

Leiden University Medical Center Gali Albalak said that exercise has been known to benefit cardiovascular health. The study now demonstrates that exercise early in the morning could be beneficial. 

Albalak and his colleagues evaluated more than 85,000 people’s information from the UK Biobank. People between the ages of 42 and 78 who were free of heart disease at the beginning of the trial were included in the data. The participants in this study were, on the median, 62 years old, and 58% were female. The patients wore wearable fitness trackers for seven straight days. The researchers monitored them for episodic cardiovascular disease, defined as the first hospitalization or death due to stroke or coronary artery disease.

The scientists took both gender and age into account and still found comparable results. Compared to the lunchtime group, those who were most active in the or late morning had an 11% and 16% lower incident heart disease risk, respectively. The likelihood of incident stroke was also reduced by 17% in people who were active mid-morning.

Morning exercise benefits women more than men

The researchers discovered that the findings were significant in females but not among men after evaluating the data solely by sex. Early or late morning activity was associated with a 22% and a 24% decreased risk of incident CVD. Additionally, late-morning activity was associated with a 35% lower incidence of incident stroke in women.

The observational approach of the study makes it challenging for the researchers to reach firm conclusions. Therefore, the study cannot explain why the results were more pronounced in women. Despite this, it supports the claim that morning exercise has more advantages than night exercise.