From Desk to Gym: The Benefits of After-Work Workouts

I don’t know about you, but the idea of getting up with the sun to workout sounds like the definition of cruel and unusual punishment.  While I applaud the early-risers amongst us, I certainly am not one of them.  I prefer to skew my sweat session to later in the afternoon, after work, and there are a few advantages for those of us who prefer to hit “snooze” more than once. 

Benefits of After-Work Exercise 

The first, and most obvious, benefit to the post-work workout is that we are able to increase our sleep time by virtue of waking up later.  Since obtaining the preferred seven to nine hours of sleep per night is a struggle for most of us, sleeping in and pushing our workouts to the afternoon can help us get closer to our sleep goals.  However, after a long day at the office, if we take the time to go home and change, we may be derailed by the comfort of our couch and snacks.  In order to remove this temptation, try taking your gym bag to work with you.  This way you can go directly to the gym.

Working out after work can significantly improve our food choices and aid in our efforts to lose weight.  Research has shown that after we perform mentally draining tasks, we are prone to overeat unhealth food by an average of 100 calories when compared to individuals who did not partake in challenging cognitive tasks.  Just 20 minutes of brain work is enough to induce these unhealthy cravings.  After a long day of work, where we perform much more than 20 minutes of mental exercises, it is no surprise that we want to chill on the couch with a pizza.  However, just fifteen minutes of exercise can help reduce the urge to order Dominoes.  Study participants who performed fifteen minutes of physical activity, had an easier time saying “no” to unhealthy foods and ate an average of 125 calories less.  Plus, they received the physical benefits of exercise. 

Things to Consider 

There are a few things to keep in mind when we switch into our gym attire after work.  High-intensity aerobic exercise has the ability to promote wakefulness due to the increase in core body temperature and hormonal release during exercise.  Try and finish your workout at least 90 minutes before bedtime to avoid sleep disruptions.  If you go to the gym later and have trouble sleeping, then try shifting to moderate intensity exercise, which causes fewer sleep disturbances. 

Article Highlights

• Sleeping in and pushing our workouts to the afternoon can help us get closer to our sleep goals. 
• After we perform mentally draining tasks (like a long day at work), we are prone to overeat unhealth food
• When we perform at least 15 minutes of physical activity, we can reduce the likelihood of cravings (study participants ate an average of 125 calories less)
• Try and finish your workout at least 90 minutes before bedtime to avoid sleep disruptions

Author: Dr. Colleen Gulick

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