The Impact of Exercise Timing and Consistency on Heart and Lung Fitness
Over the past few years, research has shed light on the impact of the human circadian rhythm on overall health. Disruptions to the natural sleep-wake cycle have been linked to an increased risk of several health conditions, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, depression, and certain cancers.
The circadian rhythm not only governs sleep patterns but also determines the times a person engages in daily activities, such as exercise. Previous studies have shown that the circadian rhythm can influence exercise performance and recovery time. A disrupted sleep-wake cycle can cause issues with temperature regulation and hormonal fluctuations, impacting physical activity.
Now, a study published in the journal "Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise" suggests that maintaining a consistent exercise routine may improve cardiovascular and lung health as individuals age.
In this study, researchers recruited approximately 800 older adults, with an average age of 76, who wore wrist-worn accelerometers for seven days to measure their daily activity. participants also underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing to assess their heart and lung health.
Esser, the study's senior author and professor of physiology and aging at the University of Florida, explains that cardiorespiratory fitness is a measure of how well the heart, lungs, and muscles work together in response to exercise. Higher values are associated with a longer lifespan and lower mortality risks.
The study also found that participants who had the most activity during the active part of their day relative to their daily resting time, with activity peaking earlier in the day, were linked to better cardiorespiratory fitness and walking efficiency.
Esser believes that getting moving earlier in the day could provide health benefits. Additionally, the study found that consistency in daily activity patterns, with the highest activity time happening at the same time every day, was associated with better health outcomes.
Esser concludes that maintaining a daily exercise routine that includes attention to the timing and consistency of activity is important for maintaining health as we age. While we are living longer, in general, we are not living healthier, so it is important to find ways to help people maintain or improve their health while aging, thus improving quality of life and diminishing the impact of age-related chronic diseases.
This study finds that earlier time of activity and repeatability are crucial factors in maintaining health as we age. Research is continuing to expand to determine more mechanistically how the timing of activity impacts health with aging, as well as examining sleep, pain, cognition, and mental health outcomes.
Cheng-Han Chen, a board-certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center, suggests that we may eventually be able to tailor exercise recommendations to optimize the physiological benefits. Regular exercise is an essential part of staying healthy as you get older. As our population ages, strategies to improve physical fitness may help reduce the burden of disease in our society.
- Maintaining a consistent exercise routine, as suggested by the study, might improve cardiovascular and lung health as individuals age, according to a publication in "Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise."
- In this study, older adults, with an average age of 76, wore wrist-worn accelerometers for seven days to measure their daily activity and underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing to assess their heart and lung health.
- Esser, the study's senior author and professor of physiology and aging at the University of Florida, explains that cardiorespiratory fitness is a measure of how well the heart, lungs, and muscles work together in response to exercise.
- The study found that participants who had the most activity during the active part of their day relative to their daily resting time, with activity peaking earlier in the day, were linked to better cardiorespiratory fitness and walking efficiency.
- Consistency in daily activity patterns, with the highest activity time happening at the same time every day, was also associated with better health outcomes in this study.
- As we age, maintaining a daily exercise routine, with attention to the timing and consistency of activity, is important for maintaining health, decreasing the impact of age-related chronic diseases, and improving quality of life, according to Esser and his team's research.
