What's the best time of the day for Seniors to exercise?

According to studies monitored by the BBC, there is mounting evidence that our health and performance are impacted by the time of day we exercise, but is it possible to teach our bodies to function at different times of the day?

The greatest athletes in the world will assemble in Paris in a few months to vie for the ultimate sporting prize: gold at the Olympic Games. Before they step onto the starting blocks, individuals who are wanting to make history with a performance that breaks records might want to check the time on the clock.

One scientific study suggests that the swimmers might benefit at the very least. The swim timings of 144 medal-winning swimmers at four Olympic Games" Athens (2004), Beijing (2008), London (2012), and Rio (2016)"were found to be fastest when they competed in the early evening. More precisely, at 5:12 p.m.

Not only do decorated Olympians exhibit this phenomenon, but regular cyclists also achieve speedier time trials throughout the evening. Resistance training is especially sensitive to the influences of the time of day, with almost constant peak performance occurring between 4 and 8 p.m. Men and women seem to be affected differently by exercise, depending on the time of day.

The fundamental cause of the variations in our physical responses to exercise is our circadian rhythms, which are governed by the body's molecular clock, which controls our eating and sleeping patterns. The brain's hypothalamus contains a core clock that is triggered by light exposure through signals from the optic nerve. This circadian pacemaker in the hypothalamus is called the suprachiasmatic nucleus. It keeps the body as a whole in sync by sending signals to peripheral clocks in other organs, muscle tissue, and adipose tissue. On the other hand, other stimuli, like what we eat or do, might change these peripheral clocks. This is how the "skeletal muscle clock" reacts to exercise, and it may be adjusted by engaging in regular exercise at various times.

In another study titled "Circadian Rhythms and Exercise in Cardiometabolic Health" by Milena Schonke, Karyn A. Esser, and Brendan M. Gabriel on March 21st, 2023, the conclusion was that morning exercise (AM) reduced abdominal fat and blood pressure, and evening exercise (PM) enhanced muscular performance in the women's cohort. In the male cohort, PM increased fat oxidation and reduced systolic BP and fatigue. Thus, ETOD may be important to optimize individual exercise-induced health and performance outcomes in physically active individuals and may be independent of macronutrient intake.