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“It was a logical next step to see if exercise could influence some of these metabolic processes that are affected by circadian rhythm,” explains Dr Angelo Sabag, an exercise physiologist at University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre and joint first author of the new research.
One recent systematic review found after-dinner exercise elicited the greatest improvements in glucose.
This may be because physical activity is, as Sabag says, “a really potent stimulator of insulin sensitivity”, so evening exercise offsets the naturally declining glucose response towards the end of the day.
For the new paper, Sabag and his colleagues wanted to understand what this might mean in the long term for those with poor metabolic health.
People with or at risk of type 2 diabetes, such as those with obesity, have a slightly delayed circadian rhythm meaning that the impaired glucose response we all have late in the day is pushed back further, happening around midnight.
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This means they wake with high blood glucose levels and the cycle of dysregulation continues. Evening activity, as they predicted, seemed to have the greatest benefit in regulating that spike and influencing health outcomes down the track.
Additionally, the frequency of aerobic bouts further reduced the risk and were more important than the total time a person moved each day.
More frequent episodes of contraction, through movement, may stimulate glucose uptake into skeletal muscle reducing dramatic oscillations throughout the day, the researchers suggested.
Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research director John Hawley says the findings are powerful, and it’s a large cohort, but it’s still early days.
“I’ve been asked many times what is the best time of day to exercise, but the truth is we don’t have enough studies on populations,” says Hawley, who was not involved with the study. While evening exercise might be the most effective time for those with metabolic conditions, the same is not necessarily true for the rest of us.
Our body has a remarkable capacity to maintain homeostasis and in a normal state of health we can cope with fluctuations. Therefore, the time of day is likely to make little difference – for health outcomes at least.
The capacity to self-regulate diminishes with increased weight and this is where precision may provide extra bang for buck, Sabag adds: “Those people can benefit the most from evening exercise.”
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