Many individuals have varying preferences about when they want to work out — namely, in the morning or the evening. But the real question is, which workout offers more benefits?
When you establish a nighttime workout routine, you can enjoy a host of advantages you might not otherwise get out of an early morning workout.
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Better Sleep
Contrary to some beliefs, a 2013 study on exercise and sleep found no evidence that exercising in the evening was harmful to sleep. While evening exercise can increase our body temperature and heart rate and make us feel more aroused, giving yourself ample time after your workout to relax can help send you on your way to a splendid night’s sleep.
Plus, you can further promote a relaxed state of mind by taking CBD sleep oil after your workout.
Especially if you’re a night owl, establishing a nighttime workout routine can help you fall asleep easier and even improve your sleep quality. If you time your workout so you finish at least 90 minutes before bedtime, you give your body plenty of time to enable endorphin levels and your body temperature to return to normal levels conducive to sleep.
Doing lighter workouts, such as resistance training or light aerobics, in the evening help reduce the number of times you wake up at night because they offer the benefits of exercise without increasing the body temperature too much.
Of course, sometimes you need to get in a more intense workout beyond resistance or aerobics exercise. If you opt for a more intense workout in the evening, wearing a compression garment while you sleep may help promote muscle recovery. A study that examines the effects of a whole body compression garment on markers of recovery after a heavy resistance workout in men and women can help you determine if a whole body compression garment may be right for you.
Because exercise has also been shown to reduce anxiety and stress levels, working out before bed can help put your mind at ease and stop those racing thoughts that keep you up at night.
More Motivation and Less Stiffness
Even if you consider yourself a morning person, working out in the morning is not without its challenges. Chances are you are operating on a tight schedule because you only have so much time before you have to get to class, work or see your kids off to school or daycare. That means you have to wake up extra early to get a workout in and find the motivation to do so.
When you work out at night, you can bypass the sleepiness and time crunch and jump right into your workout. Not only are you bound to be much more awake, energized and motivated to work out in the evening, but your muscles and joints are much less stiff. Because you’ve already been up and about, you’ve already got your blood flowing and likely need less stretching before you begin your workout.
Additionally, your metabolism and lungs work best later in the afternoon or early in the evening, so you’ll also have greater strength and endurance to crush your workout.
These factors mean there’s less risk of injury when you work out later in the day and can make it that much easier to jump into your exercise routine and catch some Zzzs soon after. If you accidentally work out a little too close to bedtime, you can help elicit sleep by taking some CBD oil for sleep after your workout.
Destress After a Long Day
Another benefit of working out later in the day is it allows you to destress after a long day. Whether you had a stressful or tedious day at work or school, exercise is a fantastic way to ease stress and give you a mental break. You can melt away the day’s stresses both physically and mentally by sweating it out with your favorite workout and then winding down with a post-workout ritual.
You can make the most of your evening exercise routine by learning what to add to your post-workout ritual to help promote recovery and unwind. Developing a post-workout routine, including taking CBD tincture for sleep when it’s time to relax, can help you finish an otherwise taxing day on a calm note.
Clean Body, Clean Sheets
An added benefit of a nighttime workout is you can end your workout session with a relaxing shower or bath. If you worked up a sweat during a hard workout, there’s no better feeling than rinsing away that sweat and helping your muscles recover with the aid of a cool or warm shower or bath.
If you opt for a cold rinse, you can immediately cool yourself off and help your muscles recover even more quickly than you would with a hot shower. The cold water can help decrease your heart rate and cardiac stress after an especially intense exercise in a hot climate — all things that can help promote a better night’s sleep.
A shower before bed also keeps your sheets clean. We spend a fair amount of our lives in bed, which leaves ample time for our sweat, body oils and makeup to build up on our sheets. When this happens, we become more prone to skin issues like acne breakouts. When you work out at night and finish your routine with a shower or bath, you can go to bed feeling fresh and help keep your sheets cleaner for longer.
The Final Word
If you’re trying to find the best time of day to fit in a workout, consider establishing a nighttime workout routine. Getting in your daily exercise after a long day can help ensure you are more limber and reduce your risk of injury, as well as help you unwind from a long day.
By pairing these healthy evening habits with CBD, you’ll be in for a wonderful and peaceful night of sleep.
