Exercising in the morning is better than in the evening and is more in line with the body's rhythm

Text/Ito Yu

Our physical condition is adjusted by clock genes. Therefore, if you exercise at a time that suits your body's rhythm, you can achieve greater results. For example, diabetics can exercise after meals to suppress the rise in blood sugar after meals. After exercise, not only will a large amount of sugar be brought into the muscles, but the intestines will also be stimulated to secrete a hormone that promotes the secretion of insulin to lower blood sugar.

"Which is better, exercising in the morning or exercising in the evening?" There are various opinions on this question in the market. In fact, in medicine, there is no clear answer yet. Most people don’t usually eat too much for breakfast, so healthy people’s blood sugar levels don’t rise too high after breakfast. However, even a small breakfast may cause a significant rise in blood sugar in diabetic patients.

Once blood sugar rises in the morning, it will continue to rise when you eat lunch and dinner. This phenomenon is called the "second meal effect". For people who experience this phenomenon significantly, if they exercise in the morning, they can effectively lower their blood sugar for the whole day. However, after getting up in the morning, the clock genes start the morning mode all at once and the activity of the sympathetic nerves increases. Since blood pressure will also rise suddenly, it is not recommended for people with high blood pressure to exercise as soon as they get up.

As an aside, most high blood pressure medicine bags will say "take after meals", but in fact there is no problem taking it before meals. Blood pressure tends to rise especially when you wake up in the morning, so instead of waiting until after breakfast to take the medicine, it is actually recommended to take the medicine immediately after getting up.

In the morning, we can listen to relaxing music, drink hot milk, etc. to let the body slowly wake up, and try to avoid behaviors that may cause excessive nervous excitement. Milk is rich in an essential amino acid called tryptophan, which can enhance the functioning of our parasympathetic nervous system and produce serotonin, which induces sleep. Therefore, a glass of warm milk in the morning can relieve the over-excited sympathetic nerve function; if you drink it before bed, it can also help you sleep well at night.

Occasionally, in the dark night, you would see someone jogging hard, enduring the cold wind. Maybe they have more free time at night, or think there are fewer pedestrians and it is cooler at night, but no matter what the reason is, it is still an act that violates the operation of clock genes and will cause "visceral stress." So just like diet, I hope everyone can develop the habit of exercising with the sun. As we get older, we tend to get up earlier, so why not treat the morning radio gymnastics as a "task" when the sun comes out and make it a habit!

This article is from Sancai Culture "I Want My Internal Organs to Become Younger: 10 Rules to Reverse "Internal Organ Lifespan", So You Won't Get Old, Get Fat, and Become Healthier! 》