I took a 7 p.m. Zumba class recently with a friend. We got our dance on, and there was lots of sweating involved.
When I got home, I had a heck of a time falling asleep that night. I am usually in bed by 9 p.m. Early to bed and early to rise over here.
My Oura ring showed the next day that my heart rate did not drop enough to get adequate rest.
I LOVE my Oura ring. It tracks my heart rate while I sleep. Based on my sleep quality the night before, it will notify me whether I should take it easy the next day.
This is why I usually work out in the morning. I rarely work out in the evening because it interrupts my sleep. Intense workouts at night like Zumba, cross fit, or anything that gets your heart rate up can make it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep.
When we exercise, we get a dopamine hit and a release of serotonin—the happy hormone.
Working out first thing in the morning gives us a jump start to our metabolism by burning more calories during the day, and we are in a better mood than if we didn’t work out.
There is no wrong time to work out. You must do what works for you. If working out in the evening is the best time for you, make sure you have a buffer of about 3 hours to bring your heart rate and body temperature down before bed. Giving your body a chance to return to baseline will make it easier to fall asleep.
If you work out, do you like to work out first thing in the morning or afternoon/evening?
Let me know.
In good health,
Jenny