There's nothing that gets your blood flowing and your endorphins kicking in like a nice run. For some, jogging can be a way of providing mental relief while for others, keeping trim is the motivating factor. Whatever the reason, jogging is great for the body, but should we be prioritizing a certain time of the day over others?
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Air pollution less prevalent in the morning
According to medical experts, going for a run very early in the morning should be favoured over any other time of the day—especially compared to evening jogs. Dr. Adam Cooper, a GP from Wakefield (who also happens to be a cardio-lover), explained that:
Cycling and running are indisputably good for your health. But at high intensity and in polluted areas, there could be more risks from air pollution than we’ve previously acknowledged.
And added:
Smoking, air pollution and sedentary lifestyle are the three big killers when it comes to cardiovascular risk factors—more important than blood pressure and cholesterol. Air pollution kills around 40,000 a year in the UK—40 per cent of these are due to heart attack and 8 per cent due to stroke.
Risk of heart attacks
So although you might be breaking a much-needed sweat from the work-out, you could be damaging your lungs and your heart from airborne pollution. What's more, air pollution is filled with tiny particles that could also trigger an increase in the levels of your stress hormones, leading to undesired toxic effects on your heart. Professor Sanjay Sharma, consultant cardiologist at St George's Hospital in London, says that air pollution can be directly responsible for causing heart attacks:
The effect is an increase in blood pressure, systemic inflammation and a tendency to have high blood sugar and cholesterol. These are important in causing heart attacks.
