-
Running in the morning or evening is a personal choice determined by commitments, habit, biorhythms.
-
A Dutch study determined that running in the afternoon reduced insulin resistance by 18% and in the evening by 25%.
-
Moderate/vigorous physical activity, especially in the evening, reduces insulin resistance and fat in the liver.
The most obvious answer to the question “Is it better to run in the evening or in the morning?” is the one each of us gives ourselves. One can preferably run at one of these two times of the day for pure pleasure or out of necessity: for some people and their biorhythms it is better to run in the morning and for others in the evening, others finally are forced to choose one of the two time slots because it is their only free time of the day.
A Dutch study sought a medical answer, namely, is there a difference between running in the morning or in the evening from the point of view of insulin resistance?
The study
What is insulin resistance? It is a condition that occurs when cells stop responding to insulin, causing diabetes. Why is insulin important? Let’s start with its function: it is secreted by the pancreas and serves to control sugar levels but also fat levels in the blood. Simplifying, its function is to inform cells that there is sugar in the bloodstream that needs to be stored for future use. When the condition of insulin resistance occurs, cells “stop listening” to this messenger, allowing sugar to circulate freely in the body, potentially leading to serious damage, up to type 2 diabetes. You can see then how insulin resistance is a key parameter of an individual’s health status: the more resistant, the worse; the more sensitive, the better.
The Leiden University study concluded that for middle-aged people, exercise between noon and midnight can reduce insulin resistance compared with activity done earlier in the day.
The study, led by Jeroen van der Velde and conducted on 6,700 participants aged 45-65 years and with fat mass greater than 27 percent (i.e., considered obese), revealed that exercise performed in the afternoon was linked to an 18 percent reduction in insulin resistance, while exercise performed in the evening was linked to a 25 percent reduction.
Research has also shown that moderate to vigorous physical activity reduces both liver fat content and insulin resistance.
As with all studies, the results indicate an obvious response of the body to insulin resistance, namely that if you exercise in the late hours of the day this is reduced.
It remains confirmed that it is good to move and exercise all the time :)
(via Canadian Running)