EVERYONE knows that exercise is one of the best things you can do for your health – but it can be hard to fit in.
But if you knew the exact time time of day your workout could bring you health benefits, would you be more motivated?
GettyGetting sweaty mid-afternoon might protect you from premature death[/caption]
It turns out getting sweaty mid-afternoon might protect you from premature death more so than morning and evening workouts.
Scientists from Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute in China found people who worked out in the mid-afternoon – between midday and 5pm – had a lower risk of dying, both in general and from heart disease.
The researchers, publishing in the journal Nature could not explain why exercising at lunchtime was more favourable.
But they pointed to previous studies which suggest the body is best at recovering from exercising between midday and 5pm – which could be beneficial to those at risk of heart issues compounded by exercise.
The Chinese experts studied 92,000 people and found those who worked out in the mid-afternoon had a lower risk of dying, compared to evening and morning exercisers.
The same held true for people with “mixed” exercise times, who regularly changed their workout schedules.
But, importantly, any exercise was better than no exercise in the study.
Moderate to intense physical activity at any time of the day was linked to a lower risk of dying from heart disease and cancer.
And the lower risk of dying from cancer remained consistent among all exercise times.
While the new study pointed to late mornings as the sweet sport for living longer, medics previously said that exercising midday might also be productive for weight-loss.
Scientists at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark found it’s possible to increase fat metabolism – the rate at which you burn fat – by working out earlier in the day.
Doctors in New York previously found that optimal work out times could differ from gender to gender.
Women who want to lose fat around their belly and hips should exercise in the morning, the study found.
They may also benefit from a rounder bottom and shapely legs, according to the findings published in Frontiers in Physiology.