Regular Morning Exercise Could Prevent Certain Types of Cancer

Love early workouts? You could be getting a bigger health boost than
you think, a recent study suggests.
By Elizabeth Millard
Oct 27, 2020

morning exercise could prevent cancer
David Jaewon Oh
* According to a recent study published in the International
Journal of Cancer, those who regularly exercised in the morning
(between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.) had a lower risk of developing cancer,
especially breast and prostate cancer.
* This is due to the fact that exercising later in the day can mess
with your body’s circadian rhythm—disrupting it regularly can up
your risk of certain health conditions, like cancer.
* Morning exercise, however, can help reset your body clock and
lower health risks (like cancer) as a result.
__________________________________________________________________

Morning workouts come with a some notable perks: They can give
you the energy you need to jumpstart your day, and they may help you
sleep better at night, to name a few. Here’s one more reason to
motivate yourself into an a.m. run: You could be lowering your risk for
certain types of cancers.

Researchers looked at 2,795 participants in an ongoing study in
Spain that tracks the influence of environmental and genetic factors in
cancer prevention—especially colorectal, breast, gastroesophageal, and
prostate cancers, as well as chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

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In results published in the International Journal of Cancer, they
found that those who regularly exercised in the morning (between 8 a.m.
and 10 a.m.) had reduced cancer prevalence, especially for breast and
prostate cancer. The protective effects of early morning exercise were
more pronounced for those who naturally preferred to work out in the
afternoon or evening (called an intermediate or evening chronotype).
The reason for this may be related to the timing of physical activity
on “sex steroid production.”

For example, higher levels of estrogens are associated with increased
breast cancer risk, researchers state. Production of estradiol—a main
estrogen hormone—peaks around 7 a.m., but physical activity can lower
estrogen levels. That means morning workouts can keep estradiol levels
more regulated.

Your chronotype is based on when you prefer to be active during the
day. Many researchers, like those in the recent study, break these down
into three standard types—morning (preference to be active in the
mornings), intermediate (preference to be active in the afternoons),
and evening (preference to be active in the evenings).

No matter which type you are, there can be disruption in your circadian
rhythm, and that’s been linked in the past to increased cancer risk, as
well other major problems like cardiovascular disease and
diabetes.

A solid sleep schedule helps reduce your risk of these health concerns,
but as this study also points out, morning exercise can also help reset
your body clock and lower health risks (like cancer) as a result.
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This research is part of a larger trend within the past couple years on
the effects of circadian rhythm for health outcomes, with a particular
focus on exercise’s role.

For example, a study published last year in The Journal of
Physiology found that exercise at 7 a.m. or between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
advanced the body clock enough that people were able to start
activities earlier the next day. By contrast, exercising in the evening
between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. delayed the body clock, which means they had
a harder time getting to peak-performance mode until later the next
day.
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The coauthor of that study, Shawn Youngstedt, Ph.D., a professor at
Arizona State University’s College of Nursing and Health Innovation,
told Runner’s World that the reason for this may be tied to how
exercise improves hormone regulation, which affects a wide range of
physiological functions—from your sleep-wake cycle to fat storage,
anxiety, pain management, blood pressure, appetite, and mood.

“As you improve your hormone regulation, your body clock will become
more efficient, and that has a huge ripple effect on your health,”
Youngstedt said. “Like many researchers, we found exercise is key in
this process, and its benefits for preventive health are significant.”
Elizabeth Millard Elizabeth Millard is a freelance writer focusing
on health, wellness, fitness, and food.
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