Ask anyone, just about anyone, and they will tell you how important exercise is for our health.
Our mothers have been telling us our entire lives that we should go outside and play. Our physicians are telling us that moving our bodies every day will make us feel well and keep most diseases at bay.
Even the popular media has made it so well known that there is a line of clothing — athleisure — that somehow makes wearing workout clothes all the time fashionable, even if you are not working out at that present moment.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines athleisure as “casual clothing designed to be worn both for exercising and for general use.”
Why You Will Not Exercise?
Even though we are well aware of how important regular physical activity is for both our physical and mental health, we, and millions like us, still do not do it. We regularly turn our noses up at the advice of our mothers and doctors.
When asked why, we are ready with our laundry list of excuses — not enough time, no interest in exercising, do not enjoy sweating, hate being out of breath, makes me feel tired.
And perhaps the best excuse we have in our arsenal is a counter-question: Then why do those who regularly exercise get diseases?
The real reason we do not exercise regularly is that we find it immediately uncomfortable. Exercising pushes us out of our zones of comfort — out of our temperature regulated, air-purified, perfect indoors.
We have made our living conditions so comfortable that we have a hard time moving out of there.
It is not quite bizarre then when, after a near-lifetime of inactivity; we end up being diagnosed with some serious chronic diseases — like depression, high blood pressure, and diabetes. And then we wallop in self-pity and wonder how those horrible maladies came to torment us!
But to begin with, we truly knew all along what we could have done differently. And yet we chose not to.
6 Benefits of A Morning Workout
A regular exercise routine — particularly a morning exercise routine — can confer a host of benefits. We would even argue that a morning exercise routine can set you up for daily success.
For one, research shows that your testosterone levels are peaking in the early morning hours.
1. Maximum Willpower
Exercise can boost your willpower, as researchers from the Netherlands found out.
And the surprising thing is, as another research has shown, people’s willpower levels are at their highest in the morning. According to the Ego Depletion theory by Roy Baumeister, our willpower draws from a limited supply of mental resources.
Imagine you have just woken up. This is the time your mind is almost a clean slate. This is the time you have not yet started to take hits from tons of temptations and decision-making tasks.
But, as morning turns into evening and then night, your willpower gradually weakens. As a result, as you reach home by 8 pm, you are more likely to give in to a chocolate pastry than a bout of exercise.
See, morning is the time you are most likely to exercise and keep at it daily. Another thing: very few people schedule their meetings at 5 or 6 am. So, you have a thin chance of derailing it.
So, it makes sense you go for a morning bout of exercise, right?
2. Great Mood All Day
A morning exercise routine can put you in a great mood for the rest of the day.
When you begin your day with a great sweat session, it can put you in a fantastic mood for the rest of the day. Waking up and working hard in the morning can give you a great feeling of satisfaction and gratification, and you can carry this confidence with you through the rest of the day.
Exercise not just increases blood flow to our brains, but it also releases endorphins — our body’s natural antidepressant. Also, it releases the neurotransmitter serotonin, which lifts our mood.
You can enjoy exercising and make it a daily habit easily. Because exercise can make you and your brain happier.
Learn about the brain science behind exercise and happiness.
3. Healthy Diet Pusher
A morning bout of exercise will help you make healthier dietary choices for the rest of the day.
Beginning your day with a solid sweat session can help you begin to gravitate toward healthier foods during the day. This may come as a welcome surprise to you, particularly if you are not used to eating healthily.
Think about it though; your body will feel better when you are feeding it nutrient-rich foods, so it makes sense that it will come to crave those more than the junk stuff.
You may not completely eschew the sweet stuff, though — moderation and variety are the spice of life, after all — so it is not much health hazard if you decide to consume them only occasionally.
One study showed that drinking sugary lemonade restored willpower strength in depleted individuals, but drinking sugar-free lemonade did not.
By the way, does sugar really fuel willpower?
4. Energy Pump
Morning exercise can be a phenomenal way to wake up. Even if you are not a morning person, if you work out in the morning, you will more likely find your mornings are much more energized than they were before.
After all, it is much harder to sleep through a weightlifting session or a 30-minute run than during a 30-minute PowerPoint session.
After a trying session of workout followed by a nice, hot shower, by the time you arrive at work, you realize you have much more bounce in your step than your peers. If only they knew your secret!
5. Sleep Better
You sleep better at night when you exercise in the morning.
Most adults do not sleep nearly as much as they should, or sometimes, they get many hours of sleep but do not get the type of deep, restful sleep that they should.
Once you start to work out in the mornings, you naturally begin wanting to go to bed earlier each night to accommodate for the earlier-than-usual wake-up times.
You also find when you are working out each morning, you sleep more deeply because your body craves it. You make all your fitness adaptations when you are at rest — asleep — rather than when you are awake. So realistically, resting is part of the fitness adaptation process.
If you want to get stronger and fitter, a full night’s rest is most definitely a part of the equation.
6. Confidence Booster
Finally, one of the most compelling reasons to have a morning exercise routine and how it can set you up for success is simple: when you regularly exercise, you will likely find that you are more confident in your own skin and that in general, you’re happier overall.
A morning exercise routine can make you more confident in your own skin and overall happier.
There are so many studies out there that show meaningful connections between exercise and depression, and some even suggest that regular exercise is an effective way to ward off depression to the same or comparable extent as pharmaceutical-grade antidepressants.
By the way, did you read about the brain science behind exercise and happiness?
While exercise inherently can not be a panacea for the most serious mental health —or other — maladies out there, it definitely can make a difference in curbing many of them.
So really, what do you have to lose? Rather, you have everything to gain from giving it a shot.
Final Words
So, those are a few good reasons pointing out how a morning exercise routine can set you up for success. We all know how important exercise is to our health and well-being, so it is time we all act on the advice we have received from virtually everyone and take care of ourselves.
In doing so, we will be happier, stronger, and fitter; we will sleep better and more deeply, and our bodies will thank us in both the short- and long terms. Again, we have nothing to lose and everything to gain from establishing a morning exercise routine.
Do yourself a favor and don’t delay. Start today. Your future self will thank you.
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Author Bio: Jane Grates is a certified runner and adventurer. Edited and reviewed by Sandip Roy – a medical doctor, psychology writer, and happiness researcher. Founder of Happiness India Project, and chief editor of its blog.
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