Depending on when you exercise, different hormones, neurotransmitters, topical transmitters and pheromones are produced, explains Juleen Zierath, a physiologist at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. “[These] It has wide-ranging effects on health, affecting sleep, memory, athletic performance and metabolic homeostasis. ”
This has led Zierath and others to wonder if this knowledge can be used to optimize the benefits of exercise. The muscle clock is also involved in the activation of genes that regulate glucose and fat, prompting several new studies to focus on exercise timing as a therapeutic strategy for metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes. It is done.
“The best time to exercise is when you can! Establishing a daily exercise routine is important for overall health and well-being,” emphasizes Zierath. “However, the evidence … shows that there are specific times of day when you can ‘fine-tune’ your response to exercise. ”
Earlier this year, Zierath’s study found that exercise in the morning produced a “stronger metabolic effect” in mice than in the evening. Mice had an improved ability to break down fat and use carbohydrates.
“This study suggests that timing exercise during the day may prove to be a valuable treatment for patients with metabolic disorders,” she says.
In a new follow-up study, she looked at how morning or afternoon exercise affects men with type 2 diabetes.
Changes in body composition were similar, but exercise in the afternoon seemed to be better at improving blood sugar levels and exercise in the morning was better at burning fat.
There are many possible reasons for the difference, she says. For example, her unique daily rhythm of her circadian clock, hormonal differences at different times of the day, and whether she ate before exercise (more likely in the afternoon than in the morning).
Her lab is trying to understand these effects, but there are still many unknowns, said Karyn Esser, a professor of physiology and aging at the University of Florida. Timing Exercise and Metabolic Disorders.
“There’s enough variability in humans that perhaps the type of exercise isn’t right to make a blanket statement that it’s the best time for everyone,” says Esser. there is [night] It gives different metabolomic results than when performed during the day/active period. Is this a risk? It’s unlikely, but my best guess for healthy subjects…but could it increase risk for people with metabolic disorders? We don’t know. ”
Dr David Mizrahi, a researcher at the University of Sydney Narcissus Centre, is cautious.
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“While findings showing a ‘precise’ or personalized exercise program based on metabolic health may optimize its benefits, I would like to focus all my attention on this message and He warns that exercise also promotes that exercise is always better than no exercise for the general public. population. “
Regular exercise at any time of the day adds Zierath, which increases tissue sensitivity to insulin, benefiting everyone, including those with metabolic disorders. However, as a prescription, there may be time zone advantages.
“In response to afternoon exercise, patients with type 2 diabetes may have improved nighttime glycemic control,” she says. There is also some evidence that oxygen exercise capacity can be significantly improved.”
The number of Australians with diabetes has nearly tripled in the last 20 years, with around 90% of them having type 2 diabetes. Understanding how dietary and exercise adjustments can help is becoming increasingly important.
“We are still in the early stages of learning the potential benefits (and possibly risks) of exercising at different times of the day,” says Esser. “In general, we know it’s good for us to exercise when we can, but timing can be critical from a health and performance standpoint.”
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