The risk of diabetes is increasing rapidly globally. Doctors say diabetes and its complications can increase due to disturbances in lifestyle and diet, so it is important that we all make a regular habit of physical exercise along with consuming a healthy and nutritious diet. Some studies have found that exercising regularly can reduce your risk of developing complications of diabetes.
Health experts have given specific advice on when people with diabetes should exercise. Based on the study done on diabetic patients, the researchers said that if you exercise in the afternoon, you can get maximum benefits from it.
Exercise in the afternoon can give more benefits
In a report published in the journal Diabetes Care, researchers say that although exercise can be beneficial at any time, it has been found in people with diabetes that if you exercise in the afternoon, it is more beneficial than in the morning or evening.
"If we exercise after a meal, it may be more beneficial," says Jingyi Qian, a physiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and study author. This is a theory that has been seen to benefit people.
Exercise is beneficial
In contrast, people who exercise in the morning often have a late breakfast, researchers say, which may increase complications in diabetes. However, this does not mean that if you do not have time in the afternoon, then you should skip the workout. The best time to exercise is when you can and wherever you can.
What did the study find?
For the study, more than 2,400 people with type 2 diabetes were asked to wear a device around their waist that tracked physical activity. People who exercised between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. showed greater improvements in blood sugar levels over a year. What's more, people who exercised in the afternoon also had a reduced need for glucose-lowering diabetes drugs.
The researchers pointed out that the study did not examine any specific type of exercise, participants did their mind-body workouts.
What is the advice of the researchers?
It's too early to make any recommendations about what time of day is best for people with type 2 diabetes to exercise, says Tanya Hollinde, professor at the University of Utah Health. We do not yet know how the timing of exercise affected these results, although benefits have certainly been observed.
Timing of exercise can result in changes in diet or sleep patterns that can improve blood sugar and reduce the need for sugar medications. However, more studies are yet to be done to make a solid claim about this.
(PC: Freepik)
