Choosing this niche (and not another) is the most effective for lowering your overall blood sugar level, according to researchers.
This is no longer in doubt: practicing regular physical activity is essential to staying in good health, particularly for the heart, muscles, organs, weight, sleep and mind. Exercising is great. But doing it at a certain time of day would also be beneficial for stabilizing blood sugar levels, in other words blood sugar levels, suggest Spanish researchers in a study to be published in the journal Obesity. As a reminder, chronic hyperglycemia, even low levels, can cause long-term complications such as stroke, blindness and kidney failure.
To show this link, researchers from the University of Granada in Spain followed 186 adults (50% women) with an average age of 47 and an average body mass index (BMI) of 32.9 kg/m². They therefore all suffered from overweight or obesity and at least one metabolic deficiency (high blood pressure, diabetes, high waist circumference, cholesterol, etc.). The researchers measured the level of physical activity (moderate to vigorous) and analyzed the participants’ blood sugar curves over a 14-day period. The participants were then divided into 5 groups according to their volume of physical activity per day:
► the “inactive” group (no activity was carried out during the day),
► the “morning sport” group (more than half of the activity was practiced between 6 a.m. and noon),
► the “afternoon sport” group (more than half of the activity was practiced between noon and 6 p.m.),
► the “sport in the evening” group (more than half of the activity was practiced between 6 p.m. and midnight)
► the “mixed” group (none of the defined time slots represented more than half of the activity).
Participants’ average physical activity level was 21 minutes per day. The results showed that practicing more than 50% of your total daily physical activity in the evening – therefore between 6 p.m. and midnight – was the most effective in reducing your blood sugar: -1.10 mg/dL for daytime blood sugar, −2, 16 mg/dL for nighttime blood sugar and -1.26 mg/dL for overall blood sugar, compared to the “inactive” group. These results were valid for both men and women. Blood sugar levels were even more reduced in participants with problems regulating blood sugar levels such as type 2 diabetes.In clinical practice, sports and medical personnel should consider the optimal time of day to improve the effectiveness of the exercise and physical activity programs they prescribe“, estimated Jonatan R. Ruiz, professor of physical activity and health, co-author of thestudy.
We often advise against practicing sports in the evening because it could disrupt sleep. Especially intense physical activities which increase body temperature and make it difficult to fall asleep. On the other hand, gentle activities like gym or pilates do not delay falling asleep. In all cases, health professionals generally recommend waiting at least two hours between the sports session and going to bed and ending your evening session with a few minutes of relaxation and stretching. A timing compatible with the results of this study which must still be confirmed on a larger scale.