There are things you know to be true from experience and others in theory. Like running in the morning. I’ve had that happen to me but I’m not really that kind of a morning person. I enjoyed it but prefer to do it at other times. Running in the morning is therefore one of those things that theoretically I know is beautiful but in practice I rarely do.
Not a bad start to tell you that running in the morning is cool instead. I do know one thing for sure, though: those who do it – out of habit, necessity or pleasure – love it so much. Running in the morning has both a heroic-poetic and a practical component: getting up early, perhaps still in the dark and cold, is heroic and makes you romantically experience the deserted city, and by running in the morning you can face the day with a relaxed spirit.
Even scientifically it’s very good
Research conducted on large numbers of people has added health benefits to these “perceived” benefits. Simply put: running is great for you, and running in the morning is even better for your health, especially because it decreases the risk of cardiac arrest and stroke. But let’s see what the research is about.
Published in theEuropean Journal of Preventive Cardiology, the study analyzed as many as 85,000 people aged 42 to 78 through fitness trackers worn for a week. Participants were divided into 4 groups: the most active early morning (around 8 a.m.), the most active mid-morning (10 a.m.), early afternoon, and finally the “evening” group (around 7 p.m.). The result was that, of all people, those least predisposed (lucky them) to the risk of developing heart disease and heart attacks were those in the group that run before noon. Specifically, for those who exercise in the morning, heart risk decreases by 16 percent among those who exercise in the morning and stroke risk by 17 percent.
Now you may be wondering how it is possible that just one week of monitoring can provide reliable data. In truth, the initial data collection was only to create a baseline which was then followed by monitoring that lasted 6 to 8 years. Among all participants, 3,000 had heart problems and about 800 suffered strokes. In short, the conclusion was that running between 8 and 11 am brings more benefits than doing it at other times.
In other words, I’d better start training in the morning, too.