Going for an early-morning jog not only helps to boost your commitment to exercise, but it can provide a host of surprising benefits as well.
What Exactly is Jogging?.
Jogging is a form of sustained running or trotting at a steady and slow pace. It is much slower than running but is faster than walking. The main purpose of jogging is to maintain your tempo without causing much strain to the body. This is less taxing on the body, consumes much lesser energy and thereby, helps to sustain for a longer time.
What are the Benefits?.
Many people enjoy the peace and quiet of a morning run. In summer, heading out for a run before the temperatures skyrocket can also make your workout more comfortable. And a morning run can help you to start your day with a sense of accomplishment. An early exercise session also provides these other benefits for runners.
1. Jogging has Anti Ageing benefits.
Jogging benefits for skin are such that you start looking more fresh and youthful. This is because jogging ensures that the skin receives more oxygen and blood.
2. Good for the Heart.
Jogging is an excellent cardiovascular workout that boosts the health of your heart. It helps to keep heart problems and diseases at bay. Jogging ensures that blood is pumped faster to the heart and, thus, maintains blood pressure. Cholesterol and blood glucose levels are also under control.
3. Improves race preparation.
If you are training to participate in an upcoming race, you’ll set yourself up for success if you can mimic race-day conditions during training.
It is very common for races to take place in the morning, especially long races such as a marathon or half marathon. So the more that you can train your body to perform at its best early in the day, the easier it will be to run well on race day. Your body will adapt to getting up early and running or jogging if you can participate in regular morning runs
4. Encourages self-care.
When you run first thing in the morning, you put your own health and wellbeing first. By prioritising your own needs, you are practising a form of self-care. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, self-care can help you manage stress, lower your risk of illness and increase your energy. And when you care for yourself first, you may find that you have greater bandwidth to care for others—family members, work colleagues or friends—throughout the day.
5. Helps promote consistency and adherence.
Some people are very good at getting in their daily run regardless of the time of day it takes place. But others find reasons to procrastinate or avoid their jogging workout altogether as the day moves along.
While distractions can interfere with your commitment at any time of the day, you’ll likely have more work or family commitments and other tasks that get in the way of your fitness as the day progresses. And some research supports this idea.
A 2020 study published in Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviewsfound that a consistent morning-exercise routine can boost both exercise adherence and weight loss in those with excess weight.
6. Helps to Improve sleep quality.
A morning workout may promote better quality of sleep as compared to afternoon or evening workouts. In fact, the authors of a 2014 study published in Vascular Health and Risk Management concluded that early morning may be the most beneficial time to engage in aerobic exercise.
7. May help manage blood pressure levels.
A few studies have suggested that a morning exercise session may help some people manage hypertension (high blood pressure). For example, the authors of the previously mentioned 2014 study from Vascular Health and Risk Management looked specifically at those diagnosed with prehypertension. They found that the improved sleep enjoyed by morning exercisers helped study participants lower blood pressure at night, which they suggest promotes a restorative physiological process.
