What is the best time to play sports? When is it best to do physical activity during the day? To answer this question and find theideal time for sporting activity Meanwhile, we must know that physical movement intervenes in one of the main biological rhythms: the alternation between sleep and wakefulness. And obviously the body is physiologically predisposed to move during the day and rest at night.
This predisposition is reflected in a series of physiological factors that concern the production of hormones, blood pressure and heartbeat, which are not constant but change continuously during the 24 hours. For example, GH, the growth hormone, has three significant peaks during the day (in the first and fourth hours after sleep and in the early morning). Testosterone (androgen hormone) has two peaks (between 6 and 7 am and around 5.30 pm) and cortisol (stress hormone) is at its maximum between 7 and 8 am. All aspects that influence our ability to practice physical activity.
What is the best time to play sports during the day?
Having said that, it is also true that not everyone is lucky enough to be able to choose the perfect time to dedicate themselves to sport, and personal predispositions still remain, between those who are morning people (as well as early risers) and those who provide their best in the evening. However, we cannot ignore that chronobiology, or the medical science that studies the biorhythms of our organism at different hours of the day and night, comes to our aid by advising us the best time to play sports and carry out different activities.
Do sports in the morning
When the sun rises, our body temperature is quite low, the muscles are stiff, the spine must reactivate and the heart rate registers its daily minimum. With joints less ready for physical exercise, it is advisable to favor activities with low energy expenditure and which instead require high levels of concentration, coordination and dexterity favored by night rest. The energy and heat of sunlight help the body to reactivate the biological functions that fell asleep during the night and to synchronize with the environment around us. Furthermore, light activity in the early hours of the morning will exploit the production of large quantities of hormones such as cortisol, adrenaline and norepinephrine which have a lipolytic, or slimming, effect on our body, burning fat reserves (in fact the fitness upon waking reduces hunger and helps you lose weight).
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Do sports in the afternoon
The professional sportsmen play sports in the middle of the day since in the afternoon concentration is at its highest levels and the increase in body temperature combined with greater adrenaline production allows the pain threshold to be raised: in this time slot you can play sports that require high levels of coordination and intense muscular efforts. According to some studies, mood and motivation reach their highest point in the afternoon and evening hours. The athlete’s explosive strength and metabolic capabilities also have high levels in the late afternoon: in this time slot, skill sports can be played, for example with ball, which require the ability to focus on a moving object.
> Read also: Running during your lunch break eliminates stress
Do sports in the evening
After a day spent reading books or at work, sport should have the aim of relaxing the mind and body and eliminating accumulated tensions. With the arrival of darkness, blood pressure and body temperature drop and – despite the habit of many people of running in the evening – it is advisable not to ask our body for further effort. In fact, our body prepares to recharge its batteries, therefore practicing physical activity in the evening hours means upsetting the normal rhythm of these functions. Therefore it is advisable to practice sports at a slower pace, such as pilates or yoga (here because yoga is as good for the heart as running or cycling), with the warning that evening physical activity could also lead to insomnia problems or difficulty relaxing.
Credits photo: Pixabay
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2023-10-19 08:29:52
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