Study links regular exercise time with stronger skeletal health

Exercising at the same time each day syncs your body’s circadian rhythm with your brain, which may boost skeletal health and performance, researchers say.

A team led by British researchers examined mice – prescribed daily exercise on a treadmill – during resting time and observed the effects on cartilage, invertebral discs and the brain.

They found that “physical activities in the morning, associated with daily patterns of sleep/wake cycle, convey timing information from the light-sensitive central clock in the brain to the weight-bearing skeletal tissues,” said Qing-Jun Meng, a senior study author and biology professor at the University of Manchester. “In effect, it’s telling your skeletal system it’s time to wake up.”

Given the comparable makeup of these cartilage and discs in people, the researchers believe our bodies respond similarly.

Meng also suggests that routinely shifting exercise times may confuse circadian rhythms and limit recovery time for skeletal systems.

The study was published online in the journal Nature Communications.