Exercising In The Morning Reduces The Risk Of Cancer

If you have a choice, do your exercise session in the morning. Research published in the International Journal of Cancer has suggested that people who exercise during the first hours of the day, immediately after waking up, have a lower risk of developing cancer compared to those who exercise in the afternoon or evening .

Scientists at the ISGlobal in Barcelona, ​​led by Dr. Manolis Kogevinas, have shown that the effects of exercise depend on the time of day it is performed, that is, they are related to the circadian biological rhythms that govern many physiological processes in the body. .

Before this research, it was already known that daytime physical exercise serves to regulate the main circadian rhythm of wakefulness and sleep. That is why it prevents or helps to resolve disturbed sleep patterns. Since detoxification and regeneration processes take place at night, exercise in general reduces the risk of cancer.

Best time to exercise: 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The researchers went one step further and asked whether the hours we exercise may also have an influence on cancer risk. To verify this, they analyzed the data of 2,795 participants, a subset of the MCC-MultiCaso Control Spain study, whose objective is to understand the factors that cause common cancers in Spain and how to prevent them.

From 2008 to 2013, the researchers interviewed the participants to learn about their physical activity throughout their lives. The study authors looked in particular at 781 women with breast cancer and 504 men with prostate cancer.

The researchers found that the best time to exercise is between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. This schedule is the one with the greatest potential to reduce the risk of developing breast and prostate cancers. The risk reduction reaches 25-27% compared to people who do not exercise.

The roles of estrogen and melatonin

Researchers suggest that the beneficial effects of morning exercise, in the case of breast cancer, may be related to estrogens (female hormones). High levels of estrogen are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer and exercise can reduce them, taking into account that estrogen production kicks in around 7 a.m.

Melatonin can also be a factor. Researchers have shown that the hormone of darkness and sleep can protect against the risk of cancer and that exercising in the afternoon or at night could delay its production.

The coordinator of the study, Manolis Kogevinas, has stated that, if confirmed, “the results may improve the current recommendations for physical activity for cancer prevention.”

Kogevinas added that regardless of the time, everyone can reduce their risk of cancer with moderate physical activity of at least 150 minutes a week.

Previous research has shown that exercising can reduce a person’s risk of developing many different types of cancer, not just prostate or breast. This information is important because of the large number of people who develop cancer and the large number of people who die from this disease.

Also, have dinner before 9 pm

The scientific work being done at ISGlobal is shedding a lot of light on the relationship between our habits, biological clocks and cancer. A previous study, also led by Manolis Kogevinas, had determined that eating early, before 9:00 p.m., also reduced the risk of cancer, and also did so by around 20%.

So, if you add the effect of having an early dinner and exercising with the first lights of the day, we will be considerably reducing the risk of developing the disease.

Scientific references:

• Manolis Kogevinas et al. Effect of time of day of recreational and household physical activity on prostate and breast cancer risk (MCC ‐ Spain study). International Journal of Cancer.
• Manolis Kogevinas et al. Effect of mistimed eating patterns on breast and prostate cancer risk (MCC ‐ Spain Study). International Journal of Cancer.