10 Reasons To Exercise In The Morning

Here are the best reasons why waking up and having an exercise routine are essential.

​Often times people question if working out in the morning or in the evening is better.  Fitting in a workout, period, is great!  But there are some benefits to working out early in the day that may make you start waking up earlier.

Habit Forming
1. Working out first thing in the morning, before your workday begins, will often be more habit forming. Working out later in the day has a higher probability of having something else come up that could hamper your plans. When you wake up first thing and squeeze in a workout before the rest of the world comes calling on you, you will already feel accomplished. You've gotten your workout out of the way and can focus on the rest of the days activities without feeling guilty for not exercising. 

Releases Happy Hormones
2. Morning workouts release your body's "feel good" endorphins, as well as the hormones serotonin, adrenaline and dopamine.  They all work together to give you a positive feeling and naturally boost your mood.  This is why exercise is recommended for people with depression. And who wouldn't want a nice little dose of happiness to start off their day?

Builds Muscles More Efficiently
3. Through the night your body increases it's production of testosterone.  Thus when you wake up first thing in the morning is when your testosterone levels are the highest. Testosterone is the hormone that promotes muscle growth, so morning workouts can help you build muscle more efficiently. 

Have More Energy Throughout The Day
4. You will feel more energized and focused the rest of the day!  Here's the thing, waking up isn't fun and it's hard to get moving some times.  You may think you don't have the energy to workout, but the reality is working out will boost your energy! It will wake you up and make you more productive. 

Get Better Sleep At Night
5. You will get longer, deeper and higher-quality sleep at night.  Exercising raises your core body temperature.  This signals the body clock that it's time to be awake. As the evening progresses and your core body temperature drops, this signals the body that it's time for bed and helps facilitate sleepiness. 

Enhance Your Creativity
6. It enhances your creativity. There is a large anecdotal literature suggesting that creative people sometimes use bodily movement to help overcome “blocks". And several studies, like the one above, have shown positive links between exercise and boosted creativity.

Improves Brain Function
7. It improves cognitive function and empacts brain structure.  It essentially gives your brain a boost. Couldn't we all use a little brain boost before our workday?  This is thought to be because of increased blood flow to the brain and surges of growth hormones.  Exercise also stimulates the birth of new neurons. 

Protects Against Diabetes
8. It can help protect against Type 2 Diabetes. Exercise first thing in the morning on an empty stomach has been shown to protect against glucose intolerance and insulin resistance.  

Boosts Your Memory
9. Exercise has been shown to boost memory.  This is particularly great for students, as schooling success is highly dependent on retaining information. The hippocampus, the part of the brain that controls learning and memory, responds to aerobic exercise in a very positive way!  Hitting the gym before hitting the classes could help improve your grades and functionality at work. 

Makes You Crave Healthier Food
​10. An increased desire for healthy foods.  Studies have shown that groups of people who exercise are least likely to grab the junk food. Instead, they opted for healtheir food choices than the group of people who moved the least throughout the day. Exercise in the morning can help your diet stay on track.
​

In Summary

Boosts Mood
More optimistic
Deeper sleep cycles
Higher scores and GPA's
More mental alertness
Higher productivity
Reduced stress
Better planner/organizer
More proactive
More happy all around
Increased energy throughout the day
More confidence
Stronger, physically and mentally
Increased motivation
Desire for healthy foods
Develops strong self-discipline

To wake up and workout is to create a great day from the start. It's creating a discipline you can be proud of and self-care that will build your confidence.  With all the positive effects a morning routine has on your body and brain, switching up what time you workout could potentially make quite a positive impact on the quality of your health and life!

---