If you struggle with blood sugar, the best time to work out is at night. According to researchers at the University of Granada, working out at night comes with its fair share of benefits crucial to averting the risk of diabetes. In their study, the researchers found that doing moderate to vigorous exercises in the evening can potentially optimize the body’s ability to regulate glucose.
As part of the study, the researchers recruited 186 sedentary adults who were deemed overweight or obese and struggling with at least one metabolic impairment, such as elevated cholesterol levels. The participants were required to wear an accelerometer on their wrists to track physical activity. They also wore a glucose monitoring device to measure blood sugar.
The researchers then compared the impact of physical activities on blood sugar depending on when the exercises were conducted. The results were categorized into three: those who exercised between 6 am and 12 pm, marked as morning sessions; those who worked between 12 and 6 pm, marked as afternoon sessions, and those who worked out between 6 pm and 12 am, marked as evening days.
By comparing glucose levels depending on when people worked out, researchers came up with a finding on when physical exercises were most influential on glucose levels. It was discovered that working out between 6 pm and midnight significantly reduced glucose levels in the blood. Glucose levels were even lower for people who worked out overnight, dropping to about 2.16mg/dl.
Working out in the morning did not result in a significant glucose improvement, which should give people a reason to tailor their exercises for the best results. The ability of evening workouts to reduce blood sugar levels was most effective in individuals with existing issues with managing glucose, suggesting that this approach might be particularly beneficial for people at greater risk of developing diabetes.
The results indicate that our bodies might be more receptive to the advantages of exercise later in the day, probably because of intricate relationships between physical activity and our body’s internal sleep-wake cycles.