What Is the Best Time To Walk Throughout the Day?

There are some activities, nonetheless, which are best to do period—meaning it doesn’t actually matter when you do them. Certainly one of those things? Taking a walk.

Whether you’re struting on a #HotGirlWalk or taking a leisurely stroll, the advantages of walking are quite a few. For starters, walking improves cardiorespiratory fitness, it’s linked to longevity, and aids gut health and digestion.

With all those advantages for the taking, it’s easy to see why you’ll wish to walk when you may—whether that’s within the morning, throughout the afternoon, or before settling into your bedtime routine. Nonetheless, there are specific advantages, and potential downsides, of walking at certain times throughout the day.

We asked two sleep experts, a registered dietitian, and a fitness expert: What’s the most effective time of day to walk? Get their answers below.

Is there a best time of day to walk?

The reply: Yes and no. “Exposure to fresh air and natural light over the course of the day is an integral a part of a healthy lifestyle,” says Rebecca Robbins, PhD, sleep expert at sleep-tech company Oura. In other words, the most effective time to walk is whatever will normally slot in your day.

But additionally: “Natural sunlight exposure helps to strengthen your circadian rhythm,” says Angela Holliday-Bell, MD, who’s the sleep expert at NEOM Organics. “It also helps to extend your serotonin production, which is required for melatonin production at night. Because you’re most sensitive to natural sunlight inside one hour of waking, morning walks are [usually best],” she adds.

Nonetheless, simply because a morning walk gives you probably the most nighttime snoozing perks doesn’t mean that you just shouldn’t take a walk should you can’t do it within the morning. Actually, a midday or evening walk each boast their very own advantages. Actually, let’s get into the pluses (and potential downsides) of walking during different times of day.

The results of morning walks

Advantages

Along with keeping your circadian rhythm in check—effectively helping you go to sleep easier and get well sleep overall—a morning walk also serves as a fresh begin to your day, one wherein you may mentally check in with yourself and see the way you’re feeling before taking up whatever’s in your to-do list. As one Well+Good author previously put out, a morning walk may be “the right strategy to shake the cobwebs of sleep out of my brain and get my gears turning.”

Morning walks are also known to help to get up the digestive system—which may be helpful for individuals who don’t have much appetite within the morning.

Potential downsides

“Certainly one of the downfalls [of walking in the morning] can be should you didn’t eat breakfast, you would have low blood sugar,” says registered dietitian Dalina Soto, RD, LDN, founding father of Nutritiously Yours and Your Latina Nutritionist. “That might make you are feeling dizzy or sluggish. Some people can exercise within the morning without eating, but others might get nauseous. The bottom line is understanding your body.”

The results of midday walks

Advantages

In response to Dr. Holliday-Bell, taking a midday walk can get you out of the post-lunch slump because getting sunlight in your eyes helps to energise you. “Most of us have this midday [decline] in alertness,” she says. “An ideal strategy to counteract that’s by getting out into natural sunlight because…it stimulates you to feel more awake and energetic,” she says.

Soto also points out that a midday walk can be great for folk whose jobs aren’t physical. “If you might have a job where you are sitting down quite a bit, just getting up and moving in the course of the day helps break up that sedentary a part of your day,” says Soto. This may help fight the negative effects of being stationary for too long.

Potential downsides

Soto cautions that you just shouldn’t try to interchange lunch with a walk—because, , one’s a meal and one isn’t. “Sometimes, I see that folks will skip lunch in an effort to maneuver their body or exit for a walk,” Soto says. “We never wish to skip meals, so I see that as a downfall.”

Marcus Brown, a marathon runner, running coach, and Oura member, says he also notices that sometimes his clients find midday walks more stressful than helpful. “Taking a midday walk may disrupt workflow or require rearranging tasks, which might impact productivity,” he says. If that is you, keep in mind that even a five-minute walk can be helpful to your stress levels. (Plus, work will still be there while you get back.)

The results of evening walks

Advantages

Taking a walk within the evening can provide help to unwind, says Dr. Holliday-Bell. “Walking within the evening can improve mood, be relaxing, and reduce stress, especially after work,” she says, adding that “decreasing stress and improving mood may be conducive to sleep.” As functional medicine doctor Jill Carnahan, MD, previously told Well+Good, a late walk can lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and regulate the sympathetic nervous system,

Adding a partner or loved one to this ritual can maximize these mood-boosting advantages even further, and provide you with a low-stress time to attach in spite of everything the work is completed for the day.

Moreover, points out Soto, taking a post-dinner walk “definitely helps with digestion.” That’s because walking actually hurries up the method by which your food is broken down and used for nutrients. (The more ya know.)

Potential downsides

Depending on where you reside, safety concerns might keep you from wandering your neighborhood alone after dark. “Walking in poorly lit areas or areas with potential safety risks can pose challenges during evening walks,” Brown says.

Also, when the sun goes down earlier, “It may well be useful to walk within the evenings around sunset so our internal rhythm gets a cue to start out the transition to sleep,” says Dr. Robbins. Nonetheless, as Dr. Holliday-Bell caveats, “Summer months might offer too much sunlight for this to be a very good time for a night walk.” She suggests limiting your sunlight exposure to 2 hours before your bedtime.

Selecting the walking routine that’s best for you

In the event you’re in the course of planning or changing up your walking routine, Brown suggests considering the next:

• Personal schedule: Discover a time that works most naturally together with your each day routine. It will help with consistency.
• Energy levels: Ask yourself when you feel most energized and motivated to maneuver.
• Goals: “Determine whether you prioritize morning energy, midday mental breaks, or evening rest,” says Brown.

Lastly, you ought to “keep it fun,” Brown adds. “See should you can get others to hitch you. Keeping one another accountable and making it social may help make it enjoyable.”

Above all, though, it bears repeating: The best time to walk is every time you’re doing it. You understand, one small step and all that.