What is your favorite time to work out? Do you rise, shine, and lace up your exercise shoes or do you save your workouts for the end of the day? Both approaches have benefits. Many people who work out in the morning say it makes them feel more energetic while workouts after a long day at work help relieve stress. Any time of day you’re moving your body is a positive. In fact, sitting too long is a risk factor for a number of chronic diseases and is correlated with a higher mortality rate. But if you’d like to give your brain function a boost, working out first thing in the morning could give you an edge. Here’s why.
Boost Your Brain with Morning Workouts
Each day, whether we have a full-time job or not, we make a dizzying array of decisions, what to wear, what to eat, what appointments we have for the day, and how we’re going to fit it all in. It’s enough to strain the brain! We want our brains to be up to the task of tackling these decisions and helping us stay alert, focused, and productive. That’s where a morning workouts may help.
How Morning Workouts Can Help
A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine shows that a bout of moderate-intensity exercise in the morning can boost decision-making abilities and cognitive skills throughout the day. That extra burst of morning activity jumpstarts your brain and gets it mentally prepped for the day. The study also points out the importance of taking short walking breaks throughout the day to maximize cognitive function. Both were beneficial for boosting brain function.
In the study, the researchers tested various exercise conditions in older adults, ages 55 to 80, and the impact they had on cognitive function and memory. What they found was exercising at a moderate intensity in the morning was the best for improving cognitive function over the course of the day. In the study, the participants walked on a treadmill at a moderate pace for 30 minutes in the morning. Breaking up periods of sitting with light-intensity exercise breaks during the day also supported cognitive function, more than sitting without breaks. The participants performed better in areas of decision making, memory, and visual learning when they exercised in the morning and took a 3-minute light-intensity walking breaks throughout the day. Sounds like a prescription for overall good health, too!
One reason morning workouts appears to enhance cognition is its impact on a brain chemical called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF. In the study, BDNF was higher for up to 8 hours after participants exercised in the morning and when they broke periods of sitting by walking around for 3 minutes. Scientists sometimes refer to BDNF as “fertilizer for the brain” because it helps build new nerve connections and turn on pathways that aid in learning and the laying down of new memories.
BDNF has another perk as well. Studies in mice show that it also enhances mood and protects against depression and anxiety. Studies show that exercise can positively impact a variety of proteins in the brain. It’s one reason exercise appears to have anti-depressant effects without the side effects of prescription anti-depressants. In fact, studies show a link between BDNF and a variety of health conditions, including some types of eating disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. It appears to play a key role in brain health.
One limitation of the study is that the participants were all over the age of 55. Does morning exercise have the same impact on younger brains? Regardless of age, exercise seems to enhance some brain regions associated with memory and cognitive function. For example, research shows that people who work out regularly have more volume in the prefrontal and medial temporal cortex, portions of the brain involved in cognitive function and memory.
Is High-Intensity Exercise Even Better?
Although this study found elevations in BDNF after moderate-intensity exercise of only 30 minutes, research in mice shows that high-intensity exercise is better for boosting BDNF. One study found that mice showed a bump up in BDNF after an hour plus of high-intensity exercise. So, more intense and longer periods of exercise may be better for boosting cognitive function, although this, so far, has only been studied in mice. One thing to consider, though. After an hour of intense exercise, fatigue might interfere with your ability to think! If you can get similar benefits with 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise in the morning, that’s manageable! It is possible that shorter periods of high-intensity exercise, like 20 minutes of HIIT training, might boost BDNF as well.
Another Benefit of BDNF
Beyond temporarily boosting cognitive function, BDNF plays a role in brain health. As mentioned, research shows that people with Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease show disruptions in pathways that produce BDNF and this may play a role in their mental decline. BDNF is one type of neurotrophic factor, a protein that nourishes nerve cells to maximize their survival and aids in their regeneration. A number of studies have found a link between exercise and a reduced risk of degenerative brain diseases, like Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, and the fact that exercise boosts BDNF in the brain may partially explain why.
What Works for You?
Although morning workouts may be a boon for your brain, there are advantages to exercising later in the day, especially when strength training. Strength peaks in the late afternoon and early evening. In fact, research shows strength peaks at around 7:00 P.M. You’ll probably give your best performance when your muscles are strongest. But even if you do most of your training after work, a brisk circuit training session, even if it’s only 10 minutes, can help get your blood pumping and get your brain and body ready for the day. Give it a try!
References:
· British Journal of Sports Medicine., 2019 DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2018-100168.
· eLife. 2016; 5: e15092.
· Neural Regen Res. 2017 Apr; 12(4): 549–557. doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.205084.
· Translational Neurodegeneration20187:7.
· Harvard Health Publishing. “Regular exercise changes the brain to improve memory, thinking skills”
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