Besides helping you lose weight, exercise has many health and lifestyle benefits. It reduces the risk of heart diseases, helps manage blood sugar, strengthens bones and muscles, and improves mental health among others. In addition, exercise lifts up mood and spirits and rejuvenates the body. It is for these benefits that you should strive to exercise regularly. In fact, regular exercise is recommended for everyone regardless of age. However, it can be difficult to keep up when nursing a knee injury or other illness.
When it comes to reaping the benefits of morning exercise, consistency is key. Even as you pick a good time for you depending on your schedule, it should be consistent. However, while it is not the rule of the thumb to exercise in the morning, working out at this time sure comes with some benefits. Here are some of them.
1. Benefits of morning exercise include fewer distractions
One thing that comes between exercise and most people is time. Fixing a workout session in between a busy schedule can be very challenging. You will always have something you have to do before hitting the gym, only for the day to end without doing it. A perfect excuse for skipping the gym especially if you are not committed. In addition, juggling between a 9-5 job and personal tasks can leave you so tired to find the strength for exercise at the end of the day.
On the other hand, you aren’t tired when you wake up in the morning. You also haven’t started on your day’s tasks, so you have nothing distracting you. You have more chances of establishing a consistent routine in the morning than the rest of the day. You are free to start the day fresh and make the most of your day.
2. It gives your day a good start
One of the important benefits of morning exercise is a boost in energy and reduction in fatigue. It is also known to increase focus and alertness. Additionally, exercising releases feel-good hormones and suppresses the hormone that causes stress.
Working out in the morning goes a long way to give a good start to the day. You start the day energized and in high spirits. You have the energy and the required focus to power through tasks throughout the day. It will also motivate you to work harder and smarter.
3. Improved discipline in life-one of the benefits of morning exercise
Waking up in the morning is always a struggle for most people. It takes a lot of sacrifices to master the discipline to wake up early and start the day with a work out session. Developing the habit takes time, but it gets easier with time. The good thing is that, as you master this habit, the discipline is bound to spill over to other aspects of your life.
Additionally, the sacrifice of waking up early in the morning can be enough to help you develop a discipline of healthy eating. It would be a waste if you sacrificed your sleep only to mess up with unhealthy foods during the day. You will be more committed to doing what it takes to lead a healthy lifestyle.
4. It improves sleep
Another one of the benefits of morning exercise is an improvement in sleeping habits. As said earlier, exercise boosts the release of endorphins, which are the hormones that make someone feel happy. If you exercise in the evening, these hormones can make it harder for you to fall asleep. If you want the exercise to improve your sleeping habits, it is better done way before your bedtime. The morning makes a perfect time. Besides, working out in the morning helps you stay active throughout the day. The exhaustion will help you fall asleep much faster.
5. It enhances metabolism
The body burns calories as you move around and go about your day doing tasks. After a workout session, the rate at which the body burns calories is higher as compared to when you have not worked out your body. When you wake up in the morning for exercise, you set up the pace for your metabolism. When you eat after your morning workout and later in the day, your metabolism is still pumped up to burn more calories. This means that there are no extra calories to store as fat, which allows you to achieve your dream body faster.
6. It means better mood
Keep in mind that physical activity is one of the natural remedies while dealing with stress. One of the benefits of morning exercise is that the brain makes more endorphins that are feel-good neurotransmitters. This is the reason for getting a runner’s high. This also doubles up as a distraction away from anxiety. Morning exercise is a terrific way of starting your day on a positive note. There is a sense of achievement involved in the morning exercise and it provides an optimistic outlook for the rest of the day.
7. Weight loss
Workout in the early morning can be one of the better ways of losing weight. This fact was supported by a study conducted in 2015 which was published by reputable resources. While collecting data for the study, ten men were asked to perform the exercise at different times in the morning, afternoon, and evening in separate sessions. The researchers found out that the fat burning over 24 hours was at the highest for those who worked out early in the mornings just before breakfast. When you are looking to lose weight the early morning exercise is the way to go. You can also get regular exercise by using electric bikes. Adding an electric bike kit to a regular bike allows you to ride for longer periods and greatly benefits your health. It is also possible to modify the regular bike to convert it into an electric one.
8. Control over appetite
Generally speaking, the morning exercise allows you to regulate the appetite by decreasing ghrelin that is a hunger hormone. The exercise routine can also increase satiety hormones such as peptide YY and peptide 1 that is similar to glucagon. Apart from that, working out in the early mornings can control the appetite even further. There was a study conducted in 2012 where 35 women walked by using a treadmill for 45 minutes in the morning. After they completed the exercise the researchers measured their brain waves as they looked at photographs of food and flowers. After a week the same procedure was repeated without getting the morning exercise. Researchers found out that the women’s brain showed a stronger response towards food images when had no exercise in the mornings. It suggests that morning workouts can improve the way your brain reacts to the food consumption cues.
Conclusion
There are many benefits of morning exercise including those mentioned above. While we can agree that not everyone is a morning person, establishing a morning workout routine is worth the sacrifice. Perhaps it would help if you prepare your workout gear the night before, set an alarm, and start with easier and enjoyable routines until you get the hang of it.
About The Author
Eve Romley is a psychologist with 6 years of expertise by profession, but she is really passionate about writing, and always curious to learn new things. In her free time, she likes to explore the outdoors and exercise.