Regular exercise has long been hailed as a great way to preserve heart health, but might a morning workout provide more benefits than an followingnoon gym visit?
Galli Albalak and colleagues studied 86,657 adults aged 42-78 from the UK Biobank. The average age of the participants was 62 years and 58% of them were women. None of the participants had heart disease at the start of the study.
Tomorrow or followingnoon?
Participants wore fitness trackers for seven consecutive days, and researchers tracked hospitalizations or deaths related to stroke or coronary artery disease (CAD).
During follow-up over six to eight years, 2,911 participants developed coronary artery disease and 796 a stroke. For the risk of CAD, stroke, and ischemic stroke, a clear pattern is observed in which relative physical activity is high during nighttime hours (12:00 p. m. a 6:00 a. m.) was associated with higher risks, and high relative physical activity during the morning hours (8:00 a. m. a 11:00 a. m.) was associated with lower risks.
Those who were active in the early morning and late followingnoon had an 11% and 16% lower risk compared to the control group. Additionally, those who were active late in the morning had a 17% lower risk of stroke than the control group.
In addition, the scientists found that the women who were more active early in the morning or late followingnoon had a 22% and 24% lower risk of heart disease, respectively.
“The results of our research are further evidence of the health benefits of physical activity and indicate that morning activity, especially if it is late in the morning, is the most beneficial,” Albalak said.
