Advantages and disadvantages of running in the morning
Running is one of the most popular sports in the world. It’s also the first exercise you think of when you’re trying to lose weight. It is a highly rated form of exercise that not only makes you lose weight but also keeps your cardiovascular system healthy.
Starting the day running requires a great deal of discipline. Ask anyone going for a run for the first time and they’ll tell you that tying your shoes a few minutes after waking up is the hardest thing to get used to.
However, this difficulty does not last long. If a runner has enough willpower to survive their first 10 minutes of running, everything will go smoothly. The runner will warm up and the body will want to start running a little more.
Distractions are a runner’s number one enemy. Anything from the news, email, or even his spouse can distract him from running. However, doing it first thing in the morning allows you to isolate yourself completely from the world of sleep. This is especially true if you wake up and start running before dawn.
Running in the morning is also a great way to rev up our metabolism throughout the day. Once you get your engines running, you will feel very energetic all day. Of course, this requires you to get a long restful sleep beforehand. Your performance at work, school or sports will be much better if you literally start the day running.
Having to get up early in the morning prevents people from running. Since most of the industrialized world is sleep deprived, it’s extremely difficult for a runner to summon up enough energy to put on their shoes and run.
Plus, cutting sleep short so you can run early won’t be good for your heart in the long run. This plays to a disadvantage for most people, as most people sleep past midnight. Even if you don’t have heart problems from lack of sleep, running while sleepy can be extremely dangerous for a runner. There have been many cases of runners being hit by a vehicle or even hitting their heads against utility poles.
Running early in the morning can also mean breathing in a lot of polluting vehicle fumes if your route goes through a busy street at rush hour. If you’re running in a busy gym line on the treadmill, you can waste a lot of time waiting your turn.
If you can deal with the disadvantages of running in the early morning hours, scheduling your running time at this time will benefit you. Waking up early and running reduces, if not eliminates, all distractions while giving you a metabolic edge throughout the day.