Females who exercise before noon are 16% less likely to develop cardiovascular complications or a stroke compared to those who work out after 12pm, latest evidence demonstrates.
Academics from Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands examined the heart health of roughly 85,000 adults who all wore a fitness device for seven days.
The participants were divided into four different groups and exercised at either 8am, 10am, 12pm or 7pm.
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Participants who worked out in the morning were less likely to have a heart attack or develop angina and cardiovascular disease compared to those exercising later in the day.
Chief author Gali Albalak said: “’It is well established that exercise is good for heart health, and our study now indicates that morning activity seems to be most beneficial.
“The findings were particularly pronounced in women, and applied to both early birds and night owls.”
The results show that more than 2,900 of the participants went on to experience heart complications and nearly 800 had a stroke.
According to the scientists, the individuals who worked out between 8am and 11am were the least likely to develop cardiovascular problems.
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These findings only apply to women as exercise affects men differently, the findings have reported.
“’It is too early for formal advice to prioritise morning exercise as this is quite a new field of research,” said Gali.
Joint author Dr Raymond Noordam said: “There is no doubt that exercise is beneficial, whatever the time of day, and this is the most important message. But these new results show getting most physical activity in the morning may be more beneficial.”
The study has been published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
