Rise and shine: Why morning exercises are best

It is true that one can exercise at any time of day, as long as you're burning those extra calories. However, there are many added benefits to choosing morning time over any other. Even if you manage to fit in just 15 minutes of strenuous exercise, it will help you stay happy and healthy all day. Here are some reasons why exercising first thing after waking up is beneficial.

Benefits of morning exercise

When you exercise in the morning, you'll find that because of the increased intake of oxygen and circulation of blood in your body, you'll stay energised for the whole day. It will automatically put you in a healthy frame of mind. Whatever other things you may have on your schedule, you will notice that you will be eager and energetic enough to handle them.

Morning exercise is a great way of waking up your brain, thus helping you to be alert to plan out your daily, weekly, even monthly schedule. It will help you organise your thoughts and make mental lists of what the day holds for you.

Exercising in the morning can help reduce stress that has built up due to work, family and other life situations. One of the reasons this is true is because morning time is the quietest and most peaceful time of day -- before the daily routine begins. It gives you alone time, time to think and work things out for yourself, without being disturbed.

Increase in morning activity levels (exercise) helps increase metabolic rate. This means that you end up burning calories throughout the day, no matter how often you may choose to eat. However, you still need to take care of what you put into your body. Exercising goes hand-in-hand with sensible eating.

Research has proven that people who exercise in the mornings tend to be the ones most consistent in their fitness regimes and diets. So if you choose morning time for your exercise programme, then chances are that you'll stick to the plan for the long term. And that's a good thing!

Waking up at a particular hour and exercising daily at the same time conditions your endocrine system and circadian rhythm to "know" when to wake up and prepare your body for the rest of the day. The human body is a learning machine. You can train it to be on schedule with your exercise programme.

By exercising first thing in the morning, you make sure that you won't miss it out for the day. A lot of times other things can crowd out exercise -- work, meetings, social events etc. Thus, exercise tends to get pushed to the bottom of your priority list at times.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Most people eat a light breakfast before they exercise in the mornings. This is a double bonus. For one thing you actually get to eat breakfast, which will keep you going the whole day. Secondly, you exercise and thus energise yourself.

So there you have it. If you're not a morning exerciser, try switching over for a couple of weeks. In that time you will be able to tell whether mornings work for you or not. Keep those calories burning!