You know that feeling when your alarm goes off at 5:30am and you ponder to yourself whether that morning workout is really as important as your beauty sleep?
Well, truth is – it depends. Here’s what you need to know…
Exercise helps you sleep.
If you lose exercise, you lose sleep. Research shows that getting less than seven hours of sleep makes your workouts shorter – that’s if you have the energy to workout at all. On the flip side, moderate aerobic activity improves sleep quality and daytime drowsiness, so it’s vital to get both.
Going outside also exposes you to sunlight, regulating your melatonin levels so you’ll be more alert during the day, and sleep better at night.
All very well if you’re, well, not too tired to start with.
But if you’ve had next-to-no sleep…
… it’s probably best to catch up on your zzzs. Research shows severe sleep deprivation can delay your motor responses, meaning you’re more prone to injury during that moderate impact cardio routine.
All in all, you’ll be stressed out, sore and possibly needing medical attention – best to press snooze on this one.
So what’s the solution if you’re too knackered to know what’s best for you?
Get up and do gentle exercise. Studies show that just 30 minutes of exercise – even walking – is enough, as long as you stick to it (and it’s far less daunting than hours of intense cardio). Walking or cycling to work is the perfect way to get your metabolism fired up – and it’s much more sustainable too.
Got some great tips on how to master morning exercise? Let us know in the comments below.
We originally published this post in June 2015. We updated it in October 2017.
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