You might have heard of “chronotypes”, or a person’s natural body clock that determines whether they’re a night owl or an early bird.
That’s usually mentioned in relation to sleep. But a new randomised controlled trial suggests that it might impact our peak workout time, too.
Published in the BMJ journal OpenHeart, the research found that, “Aligning exercise timing with individual chronotype significantly enhances cardiometabolic and sleep-related outcomes in at-risk adults.”
What did the research show?
The scientists conducted a 12-week trial in which 150 sedentary participants, aged 40-60, had their chronotype assessed with a questionnaire.
They all had at least one cardiovascular risk factor.
The participants were split into groups, including a chronotype-aligned exercise (CAE) group, who worked out when bes...
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