Is it better to exercise in the morning or at night?

Answer 1

Walking during the day means that your body must use more energy to keep you cool, since your body won't need to cool you as much during the night you'll burn slightly more energy during the day. The same goes for cold, the colder the more energy goes to heating you up. Also, walking during the day is better for your eyes, since when walking at night you have to deal with the sharp contrast between the darkness of night and the brightness of city lights. If you're walking to build muscle you probably won't notice any difference, if you're walking for cardio reasons go during the day, the heat will cause you to use more energy and will (psychologically) give you the will to even be out there. Honestly, there's not really any differences other then really minute ones. Walk when it's convenient, but do it regularly. Try to walk at the same times every day/night.

Answer 2

It's probably more of a personal choice. Exercising too close to bed might make you feel too energetic to sleep, or it may make you ready for a good night's rest. Exercising early might wake you up or leave you too exhausted to do your work. It depends on you and the intensity of your workout.

Some people have speculated that since testosterone is highest when one first wakes up, it's better to exercise then, since this might lead to greater muscle growth. However, cortisol (a catabolic hormone) also spikes in the morning, which could undermind any benefits of the increased testosterone. Muscles also need to repair after a workout, perhaps exercising and then sleeping shortly there after allows for increased growth and fater recovery. I'm not aware of any studies actually examining whether time of day actually affects muscle gains, so I would consider the issue up in the air. While we might not be able to come to a consensus on whenthe best time is to exercise, we can all agree that you do need to exercise on a regular basis to be in optimal health.

For some people, exercise at night helps them fall asleep (depending on the type of exercise). Anaerobic (e.g. push ups and curl ups) tire you out. Also, if night time is the only chance you get to exercise, it is better to exercise at night then to not exercise at all.