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Exercising in the morning instead of at night can help women lose more fat around the waist, as well as improve their blood pressure, according to a new study published in May in Frontiers in Physiology.
The researchers evaluated the health, strength and physical aptitude in men and women, dividing them into two groups. One group exercised four times a week in the morning, between 6 and 8 in the morning, and the other group between 6 and 30 and 8 and 30 at night. There were 65 participants, and half were women.
According to the Washington Postthe research was designed to reflect real-world demographics, said Paul Arciero, director of the Human Nutrition, Performance and Metabolism Laboratory at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and lead author of the study.
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The workouts were the same at both times of the day and consisted of lifting weights, 35-minute interval training, yoga or Pilates, or running or other aerobic exercise. The study lasted 12 weeks and all the volunteers came back in better shape overall, regardless of when they exercised.
But there was one notable difference in the women: Those who exercised in the morning saw their total body fat drop an average of 3 percent more than those who exercised in the evening. They also shed an average of 7 percent more belly fat, and their blood pressure dropped significantly more.
The women who exercised at night saw an increase in upper body strength, nearly 7 percent more than the morning group.
“Based on our findings, women interested in reducing abdominal fat and blood pressure while simultaneously increasing leg muscle power should consider exercising in the morning. However, women interested in gaining strength, power, and muscular endurance in the upper body, as well as improving general mood and food intake, nighttime exercise is the preferred option,” Arciero shared in a release. “By contrast, evening exercise is ideal for men interested in improving heart and metabolic health, as well as emotional well-being.”
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For men, exercising in the evening was more effective at lowering their cholesterol levels. The evening group also burned 28 percent more fat overall than when they started the study. Still, strength and fitness remained relatively constant in both groups of men, no matter what time of day they exercised.
John Hawley, director of the Exercise and Nutrition Research Program at Australian Catholic University, told the Mail that the study did not take into account menstrual cycles or record whether people considered themselves day or night people. Midday exercise was also not included.
Still, Arciero is planning follow-up studies to understand more and see if hormones or other genetic effects played a role in the findings.
