Exercise in the morning hours can improve sleep rhythms and produce melatonin earlier in the evening to help promote sleep, reports Science Nordic.

If you lay awake at night, struggling to get to sleep, then it may be time to start exercising in the morning.

Regular morning exercise outdoors improves sleep rhythms and tells your body to produce the hormone melatonin earlier in the evening. This has a positive effect on your sleep, says Sofie Laage-Christiansen from Aarhus University, Denmark, who has just finished a Ph.D. in sleep research.

“Exercising in the morning daylight helps you to sleep. It helps to kick-start the brain in the same way as when you expose yourself to bright light early in the morning, and it makes the body release melatonin earlier in the evening,” says Laage-Christiansen.

Exercise prepares you for the day ahead

Waking up half an hour earlier might be difficult but it does help you get more out of the day, says Laage-Christiansen.

“When you exercise, your body produces lots of good hormones, such as adrenaline, which wakes you up and makes you ready to face the day,” she says.

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