Regular workouts play an important role in fitness and health and acts as a staple for an active lifestyle. Running is considered to be a full body exercise as it involves your whole body. It is the best form of cardio exercise that not only helps burn calories, but also improves your strength and stamina. Right from improving your cardiovascular health to shaping your body, it can help you achieve an overall body fitness.

Many people prefer running in the morning while others enjoy a late afternoon or evening run. Even, there are some who like to run during the night. So, the question is if there is any specific time for running or is it just a preference. This has been a topic of debate for the athletes, fitness experts, and researchers with everyone having a different opinion about it. Some say morning is the best time, while for others its evening.

For me, whatever time you chose to go, what matters is how you and your body feel. Each time has its own benefits and can be chosen to go out for a run. Choose the time according to your schedule.

Morning

Mornings are considered to be the best time as the air is fresh and you start off your day on a positive note. Many scientists think of this a good time to build muscle. Even, during the mid-morning, the lung performance and the body temperature are both much improved than the early morning sessions. Running coach and personal trainer Meghan Kennihan has seen self-confidence and consistency in her clients who are morning runners.

  • Improves focus and concentration
  • Morning runs will help you improve your sleeping cycle
  • Helps you make better food choices suppressing your appetite
  • Nature helps to relieve your stress

Afternoon

This is a good time to plan your exercise with your co-workers as you will most probably be at work. Exercising in the afternoon will help you keep alert throughout the day. This time is more about increasing your productivity than your running performance. It is ideal for those who are working normal hours. The only drawback is that during afternoon most of your bodily functions are inactive, such as lung function and body temperature.

Evening

From some time, this has been a known fact that late afternoon and evening is the best time to perform physical activities. The body temperature is at peak and the muscles are also comparatively supple than in the morning. This means at this time you are less prone to injuries. It can be your best performing time as everything is just relaxed and nice.

To conclude, we can say that the best time to run is actually the time that is the most suitable for you and your body.  There can be a multitude of factors such as daily schedules, work, sleep patterns, family, leisure time, and meal timing that can modify your running schedule. Just remember that you can maintain a performance level at any time of the day, given the condition you warm up properly.