“What time” is the best time to exercise for “heart” health? “It is well known that exercise is good for heart health. And our study suggests that morning activity appears to have the greatest benefit.” Said study author Gali Albalak of Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands. “The results were particularly strong in women and applied to both early risers and night owls.”
The study used data from the UK Biobank and included 86,657. Adults aged 42 to 78 years with no cardiovascular disease at baseline. The mean age was 62 years, and 58% were women. Participants wore wrist-mounted activity trackers for seven consecutive days. Participants were monitored for cardiovascular events, defined as a first hospitalization or death related to cardiovascular disease or stroke.
Over a six- to eight-year follow-up period, 2,911 participants developed coronary heart disease and 796 developed a stroke. Comparing the timing of peak activity over a 24-hour period. Those most active between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. Were associated with the lowest risk of both heart disease and stroke.
In a second analysis, the researchers divided participants into four groups based on their peak physical activity time: 1) daytime; 2) early morning (~8:00 a.m.); 3) late morning (~10:00 a.m.); and 4) evening (~7:00 p.m.). These categories were chosen based on the peak activity time in the study population. Rather than being pre-specified prior to the start of the study. The association between peak activity time and cardiovascular events was analyzed using the daytime as the reference group.
After adjusting for age and gender, participants who were most active in the early morning or late morning had an 11% and 16% reduced risk of coronary heart disease. Respectively, compared with the reference group. Furthermore, those who were most active in the late morning had a 17% reduced risk of stroke, compared with the reference group.
The findings were consistent regardless of the total amount of activity each day and whether participants described themselves as early risers or night owls. When the results were analyzed by gender, the researchers found that the results were particularly strong for women. But not significant for men. Women who were most active in the early morning or late afternoon had a 22% and 24% lower risk of coronary heart disease. Respectively, compared with a reference group. In addition, women who were most active in the late afternoon had a 35% lower risk of stroke, compared with a reference group.
“This was an observational study, so we cannot explain why the association was stronger in women,” Ms Albalak said. “Our findings add to the evidence on the health benefits of physical activity, suggesting that morning activity, and particularly late morning activity, may be most beneficial. It is too early to make formal recommendations on prioritizing morning exercise. As this is a new โปรโมชั่นพิเศษจาก UFABET สมัครตอนนี้ รับโบนัสทันที area of research. But we hope that one day we will be able to update the current recommendations simply by adding a single line of text: ‘When exercising, do it in the morning.’