A recent Chinese study found that exercising after waking up in the morning makes bones stronger and longer, compared to exercising at night, according to New Scientist magazine.
The study was conducted at Huazhong University of Science and Technology on rats that were placed on a treadmill for training daily, for 4 weeks.
The experiment showed that the femur bones of mice that exercised immediately after waking up were about 3% longer and about 25% thicker than those that exercised closer to their bedtime.
The researchers concluded from this result that morning movement may accelerate bone growth and help maintain bone mass.
Although humans are different from mice, the researchers suggest that for people who want to optimize the bone benefits of exercise, these findings suggest that morning exercise may be better.
The researchers called for more focus on the quality of exercise, and not just the time of exercise, as this has been proven to have a greater impact on bone health. Swimming, for example, does not bring the same amount of benefit to bones as running.
Bone mass begins to decline in middle age, so the positive effect of exercise, as indicated by the study results, such as running, jumping and lifting weights, is important in preventing fractures with age.