Intense Exercise Can Disrupt Sleep While moderate exercise can benefit your sleep, doing something more intense, like high-intensity interval training (HIIT), less than an hour before bedtime can negatively impact your sleep efficiency and cause you to wake up more times during sleep.
While there's no right or wrong time to run, running in the dark gets a bad rap. Critics cite a lack of visibility and increased chances of dangers lurking beyond the shadows as reasons to avoid lacing up at night, but there are many reasons to hit the road after sunset.
Yeah, you can exercise at ten o'clock at night. Exercise timing is a personal preference that may vary depending on a person's schedule and energy levels. However, it is crucial to note that exercising too close to bedtime can interfere with your ...
Yes, working out at 9 or 10 PM is generally fine, but it depends on your personal schedule and how your body responds to exercise at that time. Here are some factors to consider: Sleep Quality: For some people, exercising too close to bedtime can interfere with sleep.
It Can Help You Sleep Better
You may be thinking that a late-night workout will have you so energized you won't be able to slow down when it's time to go to sleep — but the opposite is actually true! According to The Washington Post, exercise helps you sleep deeper and longer, no matter what time of day you exercise.
A separate study, published earlier in 2024 in Diabetes Care, found heart-pumping exercise in the evening — between 6 p.m. and midnight — was associated with the lowest risk of mortality and cardiovascular disease for people with obesity.
But many people can't sleep after exercising too close to bedtime. That's in part because workouts raise both heart rate and body temperature, which isn't conducive to drifting off easily. Plus, later-day exercisers may feel uncomfortable from sore muscles or a hearty post-workout meal.
Whatever your motivation, you should take a few precautions when running at night: See and be seen: Headlamps, reflective clothing and safety lights are a must. Be wary of traffic: Strive to make eye contact, but assume no driver sees you. Plan your route: Check apps/sites; seek advice and pick well-populated routes.
Possible sleep disruptions.
Intense exercise close to bedtime can raise adrenaline levels and make it difficult for some people to fall asleep. However, this effect varies from person to person. In general, it's best to not work out less than an hour before bedtime.
Late-night high-intensity exercises (HIE) have been demonstrated to enhance psychophysiological stress [6], alter circadian phase [7], heighten arousals [8], trigger sympathetic hyperactivity, raise body temperature, and/or disrupt the normal nocturnal drop in core body temperature [9], which might disrupt sleep ...
However, the good news is that running is one of the best forms of exercise to lose belly fat, and there are even a few small tweaks you can make to your regular running schedule to deliver a sustained fat burning boost.
Is running everyday good for you? Generally speaking, it is not recommended to go running everyday. Sports scientists and coaches point out that your body needs time to rest between workouts. Running is a high impact activity, and your muscles need time to recover before you go running again.
Running vs jogging – pace
But the general consensus is that anything less than around six miles per hour is a jog, and anything over that is classed as running.
Sleep is another consideration when debating “how late is too late.” One 2023 study in the journal Cureus found that 90 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous exercise in the evening was associated with poorer sleep quality. The researchers suggest people finish their workouts a whopping four hours before bedtime.
Core body temperature tends to be at its highest between 2 pm-6 pm and exercising during this time is optimum for best performance. But exercising later in the night may hinder sleep quality because it is harder to sleep with an increased heart rate and core body temperature.
EARLY EVENING (1700-2000)
There's a lot of research showing that running in the early evening is the best time for peak performance.
Traditionally, experts have recommended not exercising at night as part of good sleep hygiene. However, a small study, published in Sports Medicine suggests that some people can exercise in the evening as long as they avoid vigorous activity for at least one hour before bedtime.
After 40, hormones shift dramatically, making it harder to build muscle and easier to store fat—especially around the belly. Too much cardio: 🚫 Breaks down muscle, slowing metabolism. 🚫 Spikes cortisol, the stress hormone responsible for fat storage.
If you're wondering about weight gain from sleeping post-exercise, rest assured that sleep is a crucial part of recovery and does not directly lead to weight gain. Getting adequate sleep is essential to a healthy lifestyle and can contribute to overall well-being, including weight management.
Even so, if you want to commit to running year-round, you will likely need to do some of your autumn and winter runs in the dark. While this does present certain challenges, with the right preparation, safety precautions, kit and expectations, running in the dark can be safe, productive and even exhilarating.
Running at night can support a relaxed mind by burning off excess energy. Exercise can also help you create a normal sleep pattern. It helps you de-stress at the end of the day. Running releases endorphins that can help boost your mood and clear your anxiety.
Running in the evening is a great way to burn fat. Not only does it help you to lose weight, but it also helps to tone your body. In addition, when you run in the evening, you are more likely to burn fat than when you run in the morning.
What's more: If you're aiming to re-hydrate and re-fuel postrun, that can also prolong bedtime, Kutcher adds. In short, both experts agree running before bed will not ruin sleep for most. However, if you have difficulty falling asleep after an evening run, then you might want to reconsider your nighttime routine.
“The byproducts of energy utilization, like lactic acid, also contribute to muscle fatigue,” he adds. Simply put, when you overexert yourself, your muscles and entire body need rest, relaxation, and recovery, and they'll find ways to communicate this to you.