Exercise at the best time

Working out is generally good for you whenever you do it, Keay says.

“Physical activity increases the sensitivity of body tissues to key hormones that help us deal with stress. It also harnesses hormones that improve metabolic, skeletal and muscle health.” However, certain times are more suited to rigorous workouts than others. “In theory, the morning release of the stress hormone cortisol might be expected to help with exercise,” she says. “Intense exercise later in the evening has been shown to disrupt sleep patterns, which has a negative effect on hormone-secretion patterns at night.”

In studies on athletes, their best performances tend to be in the early evening, “a time that matches the most favourable hormonal milieu”, although Keay says there might also be subtle differences in hormonal responses to exercise for men and women. “In one recent study that looked at the effects of exercise timing it seemed that, for women, exercising in the morning helped to prevent the dumping of fat in the abdominal area, the worst place for it to settle, while early evening exercise was more beneficial for improvements in muscular strength.”