There has been much controversy on whether or not working out at night is better than working out in the morning, or it’s even healthy to do at all. Not only are there unexpected benefits to working out at night (no matter what your mom said!), it may actually be better for you in the long run.
What could possibly be good about working out at night?
To begin, exercising in the evening is prime time as your body’s temperature is at it’s peak. The testosterone in your body is also most responsive to exercise at this time. While testosterone levels are higher in the morning, there is a higher resistance to exercise-induced testosterone response is apparent in the later afternoon. In addition to that, the American College of Chest Physicians found that the function of lungs actually had a natural circadian rhythm. In a study that went over around 5 years, 4835 patients went through breathing tests at different times of the day. Results from these tests showed that airway resistance was at it’s lowest (making it easiest to breath) around the late afternoon. When it is easier to breath, it is much easier to have a successful workout!
Both of these must help boost performance tremendously, since in a study of 20 young male soccer players, all boys performed better at 5:00 in the evening versus 7:00 in the morning. Aerobic and non-aerobic activity was tested, and in each of the three tests done on the boys (the Yo-Yo, the RSA, and the Wingate test), results were significantly better at 5:00.
Likewise, in a study done at the University of Chicago, 40 adult men between the ages of 20-30 were divided into groups and were told to exercise at different times of the day. Blood samples from the men showed that cortisol and thyrotropin, both endocrine hormones, increased much more in those men who worked out in the evening. Glucose levels were also lower as well.
Some other reasons why working out in the evening is better is the fact that you have the chance to blow off steam after a long day AND the gym is a lot more empty!
All in all, working out in the evening has a LOT more benefits than maybe you believed before! Remember that next time you debate waking up to run before your 8 AM!
This post is really interesting because I always believed that it was bad to workout in the evening. I always heard the morning was better because you burn more calories, but this post is really interesting. I was always thought the one benefit was to relieve stress, but never knew the body is functioning better for a workout at that time. Now I think I am going to try working out later because of all of this information.
I’m really happy I came across your post! As a person who tries to workout as often as possible, I have always wondered when would be the best time for my body to go workout and you how now cleared that up! It’s also a great thing for the fact that the gyms on campus seem to be less crowded at night, so its a win – win! However, I have work with professional trainers who say that its better to work out in the mornings as compared to in the evening for the fact that we would be working out on an empty stomach, therefore working on burning the fat we have as compared to the things we have consumed throughout the day. So I guess both have their advantages and their disadvantages!
I’m so happy you wrote this post! I always loved working out at night. I like to go to the gym at around seven, or even as late as ten. Sometimes it is because I am just so busy during the day, or other times it is just because I am lazy until nighttime! The gym is also way less crowded at night, and makes working out a little more focused and determined. Although it seems like working out at night is not bad at all, I feel as if it may make it harder for me to sleep. If I am increasing my heart rate just a couple hours before I go to bed, I feel like I will be too awake and energized to sleep. Here is an interesting article I found about working out and sleeping.
I found this blog very interesting. I am someone who tries to workout every day or every other day. I genuinely go around noon because I have a big break in between my classes so it fits in perfectly. I never understood why my friends like to go after dinner. I guess it makes sense to workout later because along with everything you said, it does help relieve stress. Working out calms me down and puts me in a more soothing mood. Next time I work out, I am going to go after dinner to see if I feel any different.