![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/03164049\/Is-Working-Out-Before-Bed-a-Bad-Idea.600.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\nFor many of us, nighttime workouts are nirvana \u2014 running through dark streets without having to deal with cars or commotion, picking a machine \u2014 any machine \u2014 at your leisure instead of waiting in line, or getting in an evening workout with your favorite OzHelp Super Trainer.<\/p>\n
But is working out before bed a risky move?<\/p>\n
In the past, we\u2019ve been told working out before bed can really screw with your sleep.<\/p>\n
Exercise jacks up your heart rate and raises your core body temperature.<\/p>\n
It also sends stimulating hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline coursing through the body. All of this couldn\u2019t be ideal for fluttering eyelids, right?<\/p>\n
Research suggests otherwise.<\/p>\n
A study in the Journal of Sleep Research found that people who exercise vigorously for 35 minutes before bed slept as well as they did on nights when they didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
And a poll by the National Sleep Foundation found 83 percent of people who exercised \u2014 regardless of the time of day \u2014 reported better and more restful sleep than those who didn\u2019t work out.<\/p>\n
So why doesn\u2019t working out before bed\u00a0sabotage our sleep goals?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cMost people experience a drop in those stimulating hormones like cortisol and adrenaline within an hour or so after they work out, which puts your body in that relaxed, ready-to-sleep state,\u201d says personal trainer Noam Tamir, founder and program director of TS Fitness studio in New York.<\/p>\n
Loose muscles and a dropping body temp can relax you as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo while you probably don\u2019t want to hit the sheets 10 minutes, or even a half-hour, after exercising, most people can get solid shut-eye if they lay down an hour or two later,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n
Exercise utilizes a lot of nutrients, which are further depleted at night as you sleep.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re on a strict diet, you run a\u00a0risk by working out before bed\u00a0then not eating to recover from the workout prior to hitting the sack.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re on a low-calorie diet and plan to train hard at night, you should follow your workout with a nutritional recovery strategy, like an overnight protein supplement.<\/p>\n
Or have a small meal before going to sleep.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s nothing wrong with working out before bed.<\/p>\n
Just follow nutritional protocols that don\u2019t leave you depleted and starving when you wake up, or worse, lead to pain\u00a0so severe that you wake up in the middle of the night.<\/p>\n
This is a common issue with bodybuilders and fitness trainers getting ready for competition. This is not ideal because it means your body is essentially bonking during sleep.<\/p>\n
And while that\u2019s okay if your goal is to pose in front of a crowd with absurdly low body fat, like a bodybuilder, it\u2019s also a sign of starvation.<\/p>\n
If done too long, it\u2019ll\u00a0cause your body to begin to shut down its metabolic processes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Every body reacts differently to working out. Some people simply have a hard time winding down after an evening workout.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s especially true if they just kicked butt or were doing something super social and stimulating.<\/p>\n
If late-night sweats turn you into the Energizer Bunny, skip \u2019em.<\/p>\n
If you don\u2019t generally sleep well or struggle with insomnia, a morning or early evening workout might be your best shot at reclaiming some of those lost z\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cI typically tell my patients to minimize exercise within three hours of bedtime,\u201d says Lisa Medalie, Psy.D., a behavioral sleep medicine specialist at the University of Chicago who treats patients with sleep disorders.<\/p>\n
Insomniacs may want to experiment with workout timing depending on their sleep issues.<\/p>\n
A\u00a0study from Appalachian State University found that people who lifted at 7 AM fell asleep faster than those who either didn\u2019t work out at all or pumped iron in the afternoons and evenings.<\/p>\n
Those who did their workout at 7 PM, meanwhile, slept through the night better than sedentary peeps and morning exercisers.<\/p>\n
There are other perks to working out before bed. Hitting the gym\u00a0can keep you from overeating or drinking after work.<\/p>\n
And exercise is the best\u00a0way to release tension that\u2019s built up at your nine-to-five. Just make sure you\u2019re eating enough and hydrating adequately.<\/p>\n
That way you won\u2019t wake up in the middle of the night with a rumbling stomach after incinerating all those calories. A small protein snack\u00a0before bed can help.<\/p>\n
Afternoon and evening workouts are also the best time to build strength.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s why: Your body temperature climbs throughout the day, peaking between 4 PM and 6 PM.<\/p>\n
As it rises, so does muscle strength and power, according to a study in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports.<\/p>\n
Scottish researchers report that exercise-induced increases in testosterone production are greatest in the late afternoon and early evening.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re looking to maximize strength gains, it\u2019s best to schedule your workout for after work.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s always a \u201cbut.\u201d<\/p>\n
In this case, it has to do with a principle known as \u201ctemporal specificity.\u201d<\/p>\n
This states that your body will adapt to be strongest at the time of day during which you normally train.<\/p>\n
So while you might initially benefit from late afternoon or evening strength workouts, you\u2019re better off scheduling those workouts for whenever they\u2019re most convenient for you.<\/p>\n
Whatever workout slot you prefer \u2014 morning, afternoon, evening \u2014 the key to better sleep is consistency.<\/p>\n
If the thought of waking up before the sun rises to exercise before work stresses you out, don\u2019t force it. Working out before bed might be the thing for you.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, do what works best for your schedule, personality, and mindset. The fewer potential excuses you can give yourself for skipping workouts, the better.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re deciding between getting in a workout or spending another hour under the covers, consider how good you\u2019ve been lately at scoring those recommended 7\u00a0to 9 hours of sleep.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re someone who normally gets enough sleep, it\u2019s fine to put that hour toward sweat once in a while,\u201d says Tamir. \u201cBut if you\u2019re in a deficit, stay in bed. Sleep is important for a strong body.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the final analysis, the best time of day to exercise is when you have the most energy and motivation \u2014 in short, when you\u2019re most likely to do it.<\/p>\n
In fact, scheduling your workout for the time of day that works best for you will almost always produce the most dramatic ones.<\/p>\n
This is because it increases your odds of maximizing the most important workout variable of all: exercise adherence.<\/p>\n
Simply put, the more consistently you work out, the more likely you are to see results.<\/p>\n
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For many of us, nighttime workouts are nirvana \u2014 running through dark streets without having to deal with cars or commotion, picking a machine \u2014 any machine \u2014 at your leisure instead of waiting in line, or getting in an evening workout with your favorite OzHelp Super Trainer. But is working out before bed a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3384\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}