The Best Time of Day to Exercise According to Your Circadian Rhythm

Exercising to optimize your internal clock.

Living in accordance with our circadian rhythms may be the fastest track to good health. Research is showing that when our schedules align with our circadian rhythm, we’ll experience such benefits as reduced incidence of disease, better quality sleep, weight loss, better mental function, and increased muscle mass, just to name a few.

Among this research, studies have identified the optimal times of day to exercise, both for performance and results, as well as for optimizing your circadian rhythm and experiencing better sleep and health benefits.

“Exercising during both early morning and late afternoon can boost circadian rhythm. Our ancestors were active throughout their day, but especially in the morning and evening.” — Dr. Satchin Panda

Living in alignment with our circadian rhythms pushes us toward living like our ancestors did — back in the days before electricity, light bulbs, and the internet. This is how we have evolved to live. This is how we must live if we want to experience optimal health.

If you want to read more about living in alignment with your circadian rhythm, you can check out these articles.

Morning

Benefits

I have always advocated for morning exercise. There are so many benefits to getting your body moving first thing.

Firstly, morning exercise will reset your circadian clock. Movement is a powerful cue that tells your internal clock that it is morning and it is time to be awake. Optimizing your circadian rhythm will set you up to receive all the positive health benefits that come with this, with an important benefit being improved quality of sleep.

Exercise also stimulates brain cell production and strengthens neuronal connections, meaning that learning and memory will be optimized as you enter into your day.

Movement releases cortisol and endorphins and increases your core temperature as well as circulation, all of which are going to make you feel more alert, full of energy, and ready to focus.

Implementation

Get yourself moving as soon as possible after you wake up, ideally within the first 20 minutes of waking. This doesn’t have to be a workout — that will come later in the day. But just some light aerobic exercise such as walking or a light jog, or even stretching and yoga, will be enough to optimize your circadian rhythm.

For even more benefits, do this outside. Exposing yourself to daylight as soon as possible after waking is another powerful way to optimize your circadian rhythm.

Late afternoon

Benefits

“Another great time for physical activity is at dusk or in the late afternoon, starting from 3 pm to dinner time. This is when muscle tone begins to rise, so it’s the best time for strength training, including weight lifting, or vigorous exercise like intense indoor cycling.” — Dr. Panda

Muscles are optimized to absorb and use nutrients in the later afternoon, making exercising at this time highly beneficial. Your muscles will be able to more effectively take on nutrients, and therefore will be better suited to repair and grow, leading to increased muscle mass and performance in the long run.

Furthermore, motor coordination peaks at this time which is likely to improve your performance, whether you are simply lifting weights or competing in a sports match. Movements will be more fluid and will feel easier than at other times of the day. This is likely to be particularly beneficial for sports performances.

Blood flow and blood pressure are increased in the late afternoon, leading to better oxygenation of your muscles, and thus improved performance. Increased muscular blood flow will increase your capacity to sustain exercise, whether with lifting weights or out for a bike ride.

All of the above points also reduce the likelihood of sustaining an injury while exercising, making exercising in the later afternoon the safest time.

Implementation

Aim to complete a more intense exercise session after 3 pm but before dinnertime. Intense exercise too close to bed can impair your sleep quality due to an increased heart rate and core body temperature, as well as the release of cortisol which can get up to morning levels.

Now is the perfect time for competing in sports, lifting weights, high-intensity interval training, or any other exercise that pushes your body. Aim for at least 20 minutes of movement.

Conclusion

Living in alignment with our circadian rhythms is a powerful way to improve every aspect of our health. Research has identified two optimal times to exercise to optimize our circadian clocks — morning and late afternoon.

Exercising in the morning is a great way to reset your clock and optimize your sleep for the next night, as well as improving cognitive functioning for the day ahead.

Exercising in the late afternoon has numerous performance benefits, as we are metabolically primed for movement at this time. Our motor coordination improves, our blood pressure is raised, and our muscles are optimized for absorbing nutrients. We’ll likely see our best performances and most progress exercising at this time.

So try to incorporate some exercise in these two times, and see how your body feels. You’ll likely experience improved health and wellbeing in almost every aspect.

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