{"id":532448,"date":"2026-04-15T16:01:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T16:01:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/532448\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T16:01:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T16:01:17","slug":"early-bird-or-night-owl-should-you-sync-your-exercise-with-your-chronotype","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/532448\/","title":{"rendered":"Early bird or night owl: Should you sync your exercise with your chronotype?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new study suggests that exercising at times that match whether someone is naturally a morning or evening person could reduce their risk of heart problems.<\/p>\n

Researchers in the UK and Pakistan determined the chronotypes of 150 people aged between 40 to 60 through questionnaires and 48-hour core body temperature measurements.<\/p>\n

Chronotype refers to the tendency to be naturally more active or wakeful at a particular period of the day, according to Dictionary.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

All participants in the study \u2013 which was published in the journal Open Heart \u2013 had at least one cardiovascular risk factor, such as high blood pressure, obesity, or physical inactivity, and were randomly assigned to exercise at times that either aligned with their chronotype or did not. Workouts were scheduled either in the morning (8am\u201311am) or evening (6pm\u20139pm).<\/p>\n

Out of the group, 134 participants completed all 60 exercise sessions.<\/p>\n

Over 12 weeks, the study found that both the matched and mismatched groups showed improvements in heart risk factors, aerobic fitness, and sleep quality. However, it discovered that those who exercised in alignment with their chronotype experienced greater reductions in blood pressure.<\/p>\n

They also demonstrated better improvements in measures such as heart rate, aerobic capacity, and sleep quality compared to those whose exercise timing did not match their natural preferences.<\/p>\n

In light of these findings, we spoke to Sam Quinn, personal training lead at Nuffield Health<\/a>, to find out whether he thinks we should all sync our exercise with our chronotype or not\u2026<\/p>\n

What are the main categories of chronotypes?<\/p>\n

Chronotypes are often simplified into \u201cmorning larks\u201d (early birds) and \u201cnight owls\u201d (evening types).<\/p>\n

\u201cMorning people or early risers are people who find that their energy levels are optimal first thing in the morning and often find that they are more productive during the first part of the day,\u201d says Quinn. \u201cWhereas, a night owl, or someone who is more of a night person, would be someone whose energy levels are optimal later in the day or the evening. These are generally people who like to stay up late and maybe into the early hours in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

What are some benefits of trying to sync exercise with your chronotype?<\/p>\n

\"Young<\/p>\n

Being consistent is key (Alamy\/PA)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main benefit is that it can help you stay consistent with your exercise,\u201d says Quinn. \u201cWe\u2019ve all got busy lives, and everyone\u2019s got different preferences, but the best program is going to be the one that you\u2019re going to be able to stick to.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, if you set a workout program where you have to go to the gym at eight o\u2019clock in the morning, and you\u2019re a night person, you might fail before you\u2019ve even started.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, if you select a time which is more suited to your preferred time of day and your body clock, where you feel more energised and it works better for your schedule, you\u2019re going to be much more consistent and much more likely to achieve your goals \u2013 whether that\u2019s improving your mental health, an aesthetic goal or a performance-related goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Are there any signs that might indicate someone is working out at the \u2018wrong\u2019 time of day?<\/p>\n

\"Unhappy<\/p>\n

Listen to your body (Alamy\/PA)<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the main physical signs to look out for are to do with energy levels and performance,\u201d says Quinn. \u201cFor example, someone\u2019s output might be affected. They might be struggling to train that day, are not turning up consistently and are struggling to hit their designated reps or loads, therefore might not be able to accomplish their physical goals in the gym.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlso, sometimes people look visibly deflated. Their energy levels are depleted, they\u2019re looking lethargic and might not be engaging with conversation. If someone is feeling lethargic and tired, they\u2019re not going to get the most out of their session, and they\u2019re not going to enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

What other factors might affect your energy levels during workouts?<\/p>\n

The quantity and quality of your sleep can have a big impact on your energy levels during a workout.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re training regularly but you\u2019re not sleeping and recovering adequately, you\u2019re not going to be energised and are not going to be able to perform at your best during your workouts,\u201d highlights Quinn.<\/p>\n

Stress can also sabotage your workouts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say that lifestyle-related stress is one of the biggest factors that impacts people\u2019s energy levels, focus, motivation and frequency of workouts,\u201d says Quinn. \u201cWhen people come in to train, they might vent about their work-related stress and might only get through 50% of the work that was planned for that session. So, stress can be a really big obstacle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fuelling yourself adequately is also key.<\/p>\n

\u201cMake sure that you\u2019re recovering appropriately from your workouts with the correct nutrition and are fuelling yourself appropriately, depending on what your goal is,\u201d says Quinn.<\/p>\n

\u201cTry to educate yourself on these variables that are going to impact your goals \u2013 such as your sleep, nutrition, hydration and recovery \u2013 so you can utilise all of this to help you to achieve your long-term goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

How can someone figure out what their chronotype is and find a routine that works for them?<\/p>\n

\"Senior<\/p>\n

Talking to a personal trainer can help (Alamy\/PA)<\/p>\n

\u201cMany people think they are a morning person or have read that the best time of day to train is the morning, but when they train in the morning they feel tired and lethargic,\u201d says Quinn. \u201cSome people also don\u2019t sleep as well because they\u2019re anticipating trying to get into the gym in the morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI find that many people want to be a morning person, but actually train much better in the afternoon or the evening, when they\u2019ve had a couple of extra hours of sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes finding a routine that works for you takes a bit of time.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinding the right time to train and exercise can take a bit of trial and error and can sometimes take quite a long time to figure out,\u201d says Quinn. \u201cBe flexible and try a few different times to see what\u2019s optimal for you, what works with your lifestyle and what is going to enable you to be consistent over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

When figuring this out, listening to how your body and mind feels can help guide you.<\/p>\n

\u201cI regularly have to communicate with my clients and ask them, How are you feeling? Is this the most suitable time for you?\u201d says Quinn.<\/p>\n

\"Group<\/p>\n

Group classes might be your thing (Alamy\/PA)<\/p>\n

Most importantly, he reminds people to choose a type of activity that they actually enjoy and will stick to.<\/p>\n

\u201cFind out what type of exercise you actually enjoy and that you are going to be consistent with,\u201d recommends Quinn. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to be strength training \u2013 it could be a dance class or yoga or endurance running.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new study suggests that exercising at times that match whether someone is naturally a morning or evening…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":532449,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[184245,64323,115274,102,2960,184244,142756,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-532448","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-chronotypes","9":"tag-energy-levels","10":"tag-exercising","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-healthcare","13":"tag-sam-quinn","14":"tag-sleep-quality","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=532448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/532449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=532448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=532448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=532448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}