Why you should exercise in the morning
By K10 Patel / Updated Feb 27th, 2024
How do you start your day after you wake up? Do you need ample snooze time or are you a morning person? Would you like to feel to energized by completing your workouts in the morning? This blog is all about why you should exercise in the AM, preferably first thing in the morning before you start your job.
Breaking a sweat in the morning can lead to higher productivity, better mood, better mental health, and better decision making throughout the remainder of the day. There is no better feeling than completing that morning workout within an hour or two of waking up. I usually feel that sense of accomplishment after getting my workout done in the AM. If you are anything like me, you feel as if you have the rest of the day to get your job and family responsibilities fulfilled.
Prioritizing the workout for the day so that it gets done after waking up gives the greatest sense of gratification. That reward will travel with you for the rest of the day in your food choices, mental resiliency, and ability to manage stress.
Keep in mind that if you are someone who does not exercise and you are not a morning person, I wouldn’t commit to developing a habit of doing exercise in the AM. I would encourage you to take one step at a time such as developing a regular workout routine three times a week or waking up early every morning. Tackling one of these at a time will more likely get you into the eventual habit of working out in the AM.
I feel groggy in the morning as if I’m sleep deprived.
If this is regularly the case for you, it means that you are not prioritizing getting 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep. If you are getting approximately 8 hours of sleep, then it may be a case of not getting the quality sleep that I mentioned.
Quality sleep refers to adequate time within the Deep and REM sleep stages as well as the light sleep stage. Sleep cycles occur in about 90-minute cycles, so while think you are getting 8 hours of sleep, your body may not be going through the 90-minute cycles like you think it is. Your body also may not be going down to its resting heart rate like it should be. It would be helpful to wear a sleep aid for a few weeks to give you more information about how restful your sleep is.
Feeling like you are unrested indicates that your mind and body are not getting enough rest. Focus on getting to bed with a consistent time daily to train your body to sleep well. Rather than waking up early to work out, I would concentrate more on the habit of getting enough sleep.
Don’t get me wrong, spending some time during the day to exercise is better than not spending any time at all at raising your heart rate. However, if there was an optimal time to run (doesn’t have to be running or even cardio), then it is the AM hours. Here are four reasons why AM workouts are the most beneficial:
1. More Energy
AM exercise results in more energy for the rest of the day. The early morning sweat will give you a boost of energy which you will feel throughout the day. It may take a few weeks (at a minimum) for your body to get accustomed to the routine of waking up early to exercise, but nevertheless, you will feel the increase in energy at the workplace, in the home, and anywhere else you go.
2. Food Control
Research shows that morning workouts help you throughout the day in regulating your appetite. This is largely because of ghrelin.
Ghrelin is called the hunger hormone which is produced and released in the stomach. It is a hormone that initiates a signal to your brain when your stomach gets empty. It is a trigger to your brain that it is time to eat.
With exercise, ghrelin is reduced which means that suppression of his hormone helps your appetite by not indicating that you are hungry. At the very least, most people tend to make healthier food choices when they have already completed their exercise routine for the day.
This is what I like to call a mental benefit because after completing a 3-mile run in the morning, I feel a sense of accomplishment and I’m ready to tackle whatever the day may throw at me.
Dependent upon your fitness goal, if you are trying to maintain or shed a few pounds, the morning workouts have great benefits. If you are trying to lose body fat and bulk up, consistently eating protein throughout the day would be a clever idea.
Protein is one of the three macronutrients which has the same effect as doing exercise – It reduces your ghrelin levels; thus, it makes you feel fuller, so you eat less.
3. Very Few Distractions
Working out in the early morning means less distractions since it is typically noticeably quiet in the morning. Less people are up and around in general, fewer cars on the roads, fewer lights on at businesses and residential homes.
If you have a home gym set up, this means you are the only person awake.
If you have a gym membership, this means that the few early risers would occupy the gym space.
If you run outdoors, this means fewer vehicles and pedestrians to look out for.
Regardless of your workout location, fewer people and moving objects will be around.
It takes a strong disciplined person to consistently wake up early to fit in exercise time. There is always a chance that an issue arises at the workplace or family commitments change in the PM such that you need to change your afternoon or evening workout timeslot. If you exercise in the early morning, you have the flexibility to adapt to changes throughout the day.
4. Sleep
Lastly, your body will thank you for the early morning sweat. Sleep is a key ingredient to a healthy life and exercising in the morning will get you to sleep better. If you don’t believe me, go ahead and exercise in the mornings and let your body dictate how well you sleep compared to when you were not working out in the mornings. At a minimum, you will notice that you spend more time in deep sleep than you did prior to exercising in the AM. You may also notice that you can fall asleep faster.
Sleep and exercise go together. Getting adequate rest is essential for optimum health since this is the time when the body is recovering from the wear and tear it took during the exercise session.
Bottom Line
Regardless of the message in this blog about mornings being the best time to exercise the best time to work out is whatever time to which you can consistently commit. If that happens to be evenings, after work, or even at lunch, so be it. Consistency in work outs is much better than not exercising at all.
For optimum benefits as mentioned in the four reasons in this blog, AM workouts are the most beneficial to start your day strong with more energy.
Don’t force yourself to become a morning person or make drastic changes to your day overnight. Give your new morning exercise routine at least a month before you get accustomed to it. For some, it could be longer than a month to make it a new habit.
Developing a change to your lifestyle takes multiple consistent iterations over a prolonged period before it gets engrained in your mind.
Give it time or make smaller changes to eventually get to a morning workout routine. Over the course of a few months, you will notice the increase in energy and mood as well as the enhanced quality of sleep and health choices.