2. Move Throughout the Day

We all know that if we sleep more deeply at night, we tend to have more energy during the day. But the reverse is true as well. The more energy we expend during the day (up to a point – overexercising will wreck both your sleeping and waking hours) the more deeply we sleep at night. To make the most of this effect, it’s critical to expend energy over the course of your entire day, especially in the early morning and afternoon, which are natural peak times in your circadian rhythm.

If possible, try to exercise at different times of the day, alternating between early morning workouts before breakfast one day, and afternoon workouts before 6:30pm the next (if you're a highly conditioned athlete, work out in both the early morning and the late afternoon). If you can’t get to the gym until after 7pm, consider lifting in the evening and trying to get cardio in the morning. Your metabolism stays up for hours after a cardio workout, so doing cardio after 7pm can make it tough to get to sleep.

Exercising at different times of the day over the course of the week is an amazingly powerful way to shape your circadian rhythm, resulting in more energy through your days and deeper sleep at night. When you consistently exercise at a given time during the day, your body actually gets accustomed to reving up and mobilizing energy at that time. For instance, if you start getting up at 7:30 am and going for a run (or, better, a ReEvolution cardio workout – get a personalized program with your free ReEvolution Health and Fitness Action Plan), after a week or two, you’ll find that you naturally feel more alert an energized at 7:30am. Your metabolism will be higher at that time even on the days when you don’t exercise! 

If you can’t find the time for early morning or late afternoon exercise through the week, don’t stress it. Just get to the gym when you can on weekdays, and on Saturday and Sunday, work out during the window that you can't swing during the week.

Noon to 3pm isn’t a good time for exercise. Apologies to all you lunch hour gym goers, but better you go at lunch than not go at all! Our bodies undergo a natural energy dip around mid day, presumably because our ancestors needed to rest during the hottest part of the day. It's better not to fight this. Lunch should be your biggest meal of the day in any event (see below), and you shouldn't be rushing to wolf it down after a trip to the gym. If you need to work out at lunch time, start with a breif cardio session, then do weights (normally you'd start with weights). Try to make time after your workout to really relax over lunch. Doing weights after cardio will create a longer gap between your cardio workout and your lunch, which will make it easier for you to calm down and properly digest.

Check out our Exercise Overview for more advice on general exercise scheduling.