The UGR describes what happens when you exercise in the evening: a very beneficial effect.

Exercise in the morning or afternoon? This is a recurring question that now has an answer. A team from the University of Granada (UGR) describes the effects of evening exercise on people who are overweight or obese and found a number of very interesting benefits, especially for overweight or obese people.

The PROFITH CTS-977 research group, together with the Clinical University Hospital of San Cecilio and the Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital of Granada, the State University of Navarra and the CIBER on Obesity (CIBEROBN) and Frailty and Healthy Aging (CIBERFES), investigated Effect of accumulating more moderate-intensity physical activity on glucose levels in overweight or obese adults.

Researchers Antonio Clavero-Gimeno and Jonathan Ruiz from the Department of Physical and Sports Education of the Faculty of Sports Sciences and the United University Institute of Sports and Health (iMUDS) of the University of Granada are leading this study and explain that it was unknown. Could being more active at one time of day (morning or evening) maximize the cardiometabolic benefits of physical activity. “Choosing the ideal time of day appears to be a novel strategy to enhance the effects of physical activity on glucose metabolism.especially in people with insulin resistance and risk of developing type 2 diabetes,” the researchers say.

What are the benefits of evening workouts?

The results of the study showed that accumulating more moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity in the evening, that is, between six o’clock in the afternoon and twelve at night, appears to have an effect. positive effects on glucose regulation in overweight or obese men and women. In addition, the benefits of physical activity are greater in people with some changes in glucose metabolism, such as high levels of glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, and/or fasting insulin resistance index. The results are the same for both men and women.

Total 186 adults (50% women) with a mean age of 47 years who were overweight or obese. These people wore an accelerometer and a continuous glucose monitor for 14 days to measure the amount of physical activity and glucose levels over a 24-hour period each day, respectively.

Each day is classified as “inactive” if no physical activity was accumulated, and as “morning”, “afternoon” or “evening” if more than 50% of the recorded minutes of physical activity for that day were accumulated between 6:00-12:00 , 12:00-18:00 or 18:00-00:00 respectively; or as “mixed” if none of the defined time periods accounted for more than 50% of physical activity that day.

The results may have various practical implications, especially in populations at risk for insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes, highlighting the importance of considering time of day when prescribing exercise. This information may be critical to improving the effectiveness of exercise in these populations.