With
all the hustle and bustle of kids, work and life, it can be challenging to make
the time to exercise. But exercising in the morning is a wonderful way to
create a positive routine and provides many added benefits beyond just keeping
you fit.
- Exercising early in the morning "jump starts" your metabolism, keeping it elevated for hours, sometimes for up to 24 hours! As a result, you’ll be burning more calories all day long—just because you exercised in the morning.
- Exercising in the morning
energizes you for the day—not to mention that gratifying feeling of virtue
you have knowing you’ve done something disciplined and good for
you. (Much better than a worm!)
- Studies have shown that
exercise significantly increases mental acuity—a benefit that lasts four
to ten hours after your workout ends. Exercising in the a.m. means you get
to harness that brainpower, instead of wasting it while you’re snoozing.
- Assuming you make exercise a
true priority, it shouldn’t be a major problem to get up 30 to 60 minutes
earlier—especially since regular exercise generally means a higher quality
of sleep, which in turn means you’ll probably require less sleep. (If
getting up 30 to 60 minutes earlier each day seems too daunting, you can
ease into it with 10 to 20 minutes at first.)
- When you exercise at about the same time every morning—especially if you wake up regularly at about the same time—you’re regulating your body's endocrine system and circadian rhythms. Your body learns that you do the same thing just about every day, and it begins to prepare for waking and exercise several hours before you actually open your eyes. That’s beneficial because:
- Your body’s not “confused”
by wildly changing wake-up times, which means waking up is much less
painful. (You may even find that you don’t need an alarm clock most
days.)
- Hormones prepare your body
for exercise by regulating blood pressure, heart rate, blood flow to
muscles, etc.
- Your metabolism, along with all the hormones involved in activity and exercise, begin to elevate while you're sleeping. As a result, you’ll feel more alert, energized, and ready to exercise when you do wake up.
6.
Many people find that morning exercise has a
tendency to regulate their appetite for the rest of the day. Not only do
they eat less (since activity causes the release of endorphins, which in turn
diminishes appetite), they also choose healthier portions of healthier foods.
7. People who consistently exercise find, sometimes to their great surprise, that the appointed time every morning evolves into something they look forward to. Besides the satisfaction of taking care of themselves, they find it’s a great time to plan their day, pray, or just think more clearly—things most of us often don’t get to do otherwise.
8. Exercising first thing in the morning is the most foolproof way to ensure that other things don’t overtake your fitness commitment, particularly if you have a hectic family life. (It’s so easy to wimp out in the evening, when we’re tired or faced with such tasks as rustling up dinner and helping with homework.)
7. People who consistently exercise find, sometimes to their great surprise, that the appointed time every morning evolves into something they look forward to. Besides the satisfaction of taking care of themselves, they find it’s a great time to plan their day, pray, or just think more clearly—things most of us often don’t get to do otherwise.
8. Exercising first thing in the morning is the most foolproof way to ensure that other things don’t overtake your fitness commitment, particularly if you have a hectic family life. (It’s so easy to wimp out in the evening, when we’re tired or faced with such tasks as rustling up dinner and helping with homework.)
9 Waking up early in the morning to exercise will in turn help you sleep better. Your body will enjoy a healthy sense of fatigue at the end of the day and will be ready to sleep. Say goodbye to the tossing and turning that comes when your body is restless! Morning exercise not only improves the length of sleep you will enjoy, but also your quality of sleep by promoting deeper sleeps cycles.
10. Non-morning people can always trick themselves in the a.m. Having trouble psyching yourself up for a sunrise jog? Do what I did—tell yourself that you’ll still be so fast asleep that you won’t even remember—much less mind!
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