Excercise at night before bed?

Does it matter what time of the day you excercise? Am I doing more harm than good by walking on the treadmill before bed?

I don't see why you can't workout before bed.  As long as you can cool down properly and feel rested and not all jacked up.  I was just contemplating jumping rope but I think it will get me too excited. 

I'm not quite sure but I'm guessing it would be an ideal time to burn a few extra calories, before your body shuts down for its beauty sleep.

You could

BUT most people feel more energized after a light workout. So you might have trouble falling asleep afters. It's recommended that you don't exercise 3 hours before sleep.

(that's what my doctor said after I told him about my insomnia).

I'm not sure if I have insomnia because I'm a night owl by choice most of the time. My sleeping schedule flips around so often. That's probably not good for weight loss.

Thanks for your ideas everyone.

Exercise is best done in the early morning, so that your matabolism will be going all day.  However, if you sleep most of the day, the ideal time would be once you wake up.  Be sure and have a small carb before hand that will help a lot.  The metabolism cuts itself in half at night because youer body is resting, but a snack of like tomato juice or something is okay if you wake uo in the middle of the night.  In your case, if you wake up mid afternoon and then exercise you will stil get the same benefits because that is your morning.  I do not recommend eating anything heavy after seven pm.  hope that helps.

I am NOT a morning person, so I exercise in the evening quite often... doing a half-hour of an aerobics DVD doesn't keep me from going to sleep at night - but this morning I woke up at 4am because my wrists are hurting from the handweights! So it has it's downside... on the other hand, if I exercised in the morning then I'd be having that hurtingness in the afternoon and I wouldn't get anything done around the house...

I can't exercise in the morning, my schedule just dosn't let me.  I workout in the late afternoon or early evening for about an hour or so.  I find that after workouts if I just sit and veg in front of the tv/pc for an hour or so sleeping isnt a problem.

No, I don't think it matters what time of day you exercise. I personally have trouble sleeping though if I finish a work out any later than 7 or so. I get very energized and hyper usually when I work out (even if I am physically tired).

There is no right or wrong time of day to exercise.  Here's some links to some articles that may help you figure out what works for you.  There are many more that will say the same things.  Ultimately do what fits into your life the best.

http://walking.about.com/od/fitness/a/besttim eex.htm

http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/diet.fitness/0 5/27/exercise.time/index.html

Look, doing exercise in the night is an ok. However, by experience i recommend you find time in the morning at around 5 a.m. Why? Well because in the morning you haven't eaten anything and your body has used up all the food inside your system. When you do exercise in the morning, you're burning stored fat calories....If you're trying to loose weight this is great, because your body is using your reserves (all that skin that is hanging) to power itself and keep up with what ever exercise you're doing......NOW! DOING EXERCISE IN THE NIGHT IS FINE....its just that for loosing weight faster (you will still loose weight with a balanced diet) i prefer that you exercise in the morning.

If you aren't a morning person, don't do it in the morning.  It will probably alter the way you feel about doing exercise, if you do it during a time of day that you is not comfortable for you.

The only thing is if you choose to work out in the evenings (as had been previously stated), do it about three hours before bed or it could really mess with your sleep.  I generally always work out in the evenings unless I know I have plans ahead of time, otherwise my plans will wait until I am done with my scheduled exercising.  If I don't generally leave myself 2 to 3 hours between exercising and sleeping then I usually do have trouble falling asleep.

The best time to exercise when you will actually do it.  If you find that you are most motivated to exercise at night and would never be able to get out of bed for a morning routine, then exercise at night.  Like a previous poster said though, if you exercise too close to bedtime you might have a hard time falling asleep.

Exercise can be done at any time (as long as you don't find exercising late interferes with your sleep). 

The "exercise in the morning to kick start your metabolism" argument is flawed because your metabolism runs 24/7 and doesn't suddenly shut off when you go to sleep.  So, the exercise will keep your metabolism raised for the same length of time no matter when you do it.

The "burn fat instead of food" argument is flawed because if you burn the 'food calories' while exercising, your body will burn the 'fat calories' during the rest of the day.  The reverse is also true.  All that matters is total calories in and total calories out.  Additionally, most people don't exercise as hard if they haven't eaten anything (since they have less energy) so they get less out of the workout.

Original Post by rofl105:

Look, doing exercise in the night is an ok. However, by experience i recommend you find time in the morning at around 5 a.m. Why? Well because in the morning you haven't eaten anything and your body has used up all the food inside your system. When you do exercise in the morning, you're burning stored fat calories....If you're trying to loose weight this is great, because your body is using your reserves (all that skin that is hanging) to power itself and keep up with what ever exercise you're doing......NOW! DOING EXERCISE IN THE NIGHT IS FINE....its just that for loosing weight faster (you will still loose weight with a balanced diet) i prefer that you exercise in the morning.

I'm sorry but I think you're logic is flawed here.  You're saying that when you get up in the morning and exercise, your body is using reserves. Maybe true. 

However, if you work out later in the day, then your body just puts less into "reserve".  It's a total system, and calories in > calories out results in weight loss.  Timing isn't really an issue. 

To answer the OP --- Honestly working out in the morning messes up my blood sugar.  My workouts are horrible and I feel like crap the rest of the day and tend to overeat because of it. 

I work out late in the evening.  It helps me release the stresses of the day and as long as it's not right before bed it doesn't jack up my sleep. 

So just do what works for you. 

I do 2 workouts a day (competitive athlete), sometimes my second is an hour before bed. I don't have a problem falling asleep. I prefer my 5AM workout more though...

I didn't have time to lift yesterday morning, so I figured I'd lift last night about an hour or so after dinner (we had dinner after 7 last night). I'm doing the NROL4W and last night was my first routine with 3-sets for each exercise. I actually thought I was going to die when I was done. I was asleep on the couch 2 hours after my lifting session. So, sleep is definitely not an issue with me. This morning, however, I wanted to do my HIIT, and had absolutely NO ENERGY to get out of bed to do it. I'll have to do it tonight before dinner. I may have to work out at night all this week if this keeps up.

I prefer to workout in the morning, but I have exactly 45 minutes to 1 hr to get my a** in gear, eat something lite and do my workout before I have to jump in the shower. If I'm 5 minutes late, it pushes my whole morning off, and I get the kids up late, get to work late, etc. etc... Some mornings, I wake up, and my muscles just don't want to move, until about an hour or two later.

I work out 45 mins in the morning and then again for 30 mins at night about an hour before bed.  I have been very happy with the results since i started twice a day.  you should figure out what works best for you and your schedule and then do it. time of day is not that important as long as you do it 3-4 days a week.  good luck

Original Post by karozel:

To answer the OP --- Honestly working out in the morning messes up my blood sugar.  My workouts are horrible and I feel like crap the rest of the day and tend to overeat because of it. 

I work out late in the evening.  It helps me release the stresses of the day and as long as it's not right before bed it doesn't jack up my sleep. 

I'm the same way.  I've only tried working out in the mornings on weekends, but for the remainder of the day I'm hungry, grouchy and tired.  I usually eat more sugar to try to get an energy kick.

I typically work out in the afternoons between 3PM and 7PM.  I find that it refreshes me and reduces any cravings I may be having after a stressful day at work.  I agree with what other posters have said about being sure your work outs don't interfere with your sleeping patterns.  I was really late to the gym one night and was planning on stretching/cooling down and going home to bed.  Totally didn't happen, I was wired for almost 4 hrs after that.

I walk between 9 and 10 p.m.  I don't listen to any music.  I find it helps my mind wind down from the day and then I sleep pretty well at night.  I think it is the quiet time as much as the exercise that helps me sleep.

I just have to agree that the best time to exercise is when you will do it. I have been a morning exerciser for years, getting up at 4:30 to get in the workout before starting work at 7. I was working at home at the time and my commute was zip. Then I started a job outside the house again starting at 7 and I found I was going to have to get up at 3:45 in order to make it to work on time. No way can I do that. Now I start work at 6:00 and still get up at 4:30, but I just cannot get in a workout early enough to get to work on time. So I am learning to like exercising in the afternoon or if I have errands to do, then at night. I am not bothered by exercise jazz that keeps me from sleeping. In fact, I find that a hard work out, whether lifting or cardio, then a shower are just the ticket for a really good, deep sleep. It is rare that I sleep through the night, but on the nights that I have exercised at 8:00, I have slept like a rock and awakened without the feeling that I can't wait to go to bed at the end of the day.

Sorry, did not mean to ramble on like that. The deal is just exercise when it works for your schedule and fits best in your lifestyle.

As for the exercise on an empty stomach, well, I did that for years until someone pointed out that the body works best when it is fueled. Just think of your body like your car. It doesn't run at all when it is out of fuel.