In a recent study, a scientific team from the Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) has analyzed the relationship of the time of the day when we do exercise with the reduction of cancer risk, specifically for prostate and breast cancer.
They analysed data from 2,795 people from the multicase-control study in Spain, MCC-Spain, and they looked at the influence of exercise on circadian rhythms, the biological cycles that regulate our activity.
Based on the fact that the production of melatonin (a hormone secreted during the night and with anticancer properties) is delayed when the exercise is done late, the results of the study go further and place the best time for physical activity between 8 and 10 in the morning.
“These results, if confirmed, may improve current physical activity recommendations for cancer prevention”
Manolis Kogevinas
– Researcher and coordinator of the study –
Although the results have varied according to chronotypes (the different types of circadian rhythms in the population) and other factors, the study has helped to understand how and how much physical exercise influences circadian rhythms and therefore the temporal regulation of our lives.
Jakob Weitzer et al. Effect of time of day of recreational and household physical activity on prostate and breast cancer risk (MCC‐Spain study) International Journal of Cancer, 2020
