For those who work a 9 to 5 job, exercising at night is usually the only option to do regular workout and stay active. However, it may not be the best idea to force yourself to do a workout at night as it could kill you.
According to a recent statement made by Dr. Zubaidi Ahmad of the Malaysian Islamic Doctors Association (PERDIM), doing sports or workout at night could increase one’s risk of having heart problems or breathing difficulty.
This may be explained by the fact that the body is already exhausted by the time one arrives home from work
Thus, forcing oneself to exercise without having a proper rest may bring negative effects to health
“On average, people spend about 8 hours working daily and they need time to rest. So, by doing sports at night, your body will become sluggish because it is forced to work,” Dr. Zubaidi said.
“We’re forcing our body to work by doing vigorous sports and this will in turn make our blood pressure go up all at once and it can cause high blood pressure and other heart problems.”
Doing a strenuous exercise is also not a part of good sleep hygiene as it may cause one to need a longer time to fall asleep
However, some studies have found that doing exercise less than 3 hours before bedtime does not affect sleep quality as opposed to the recommendation made by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
“But if you really want to exercise, then it’s better to do it in the morning and also according to your own capabilities. Forcing your body to do something that you can’t really do is not the way to go,” he said.
Nevertheless, there are times when you should totally skip exercise and here are some of them:
- You are down with a fever
- You have a cold
- You have a recent asthma flare-up
- Recent concussion
- Old sports injuries that are coming back
- You did not have enough sleep last night and too tired to exercise
- Sore muscles
Staying active by doing regular exercise is undoubtedly recommended by many health practitioners but it is still important to listen to your body.
It may be better for you to get enough rest after a long day at work before you do any exercises. Do not force yourself to do exercises if you are feeling tired as it may cause stress on your body.
