Research

Hormonal

Performing high-intensity interval training (HIIT) in the afternoon is more efficacious than performing it in the morning for improving 24-hour blood glucose levels in men with type 2 diabetes.

If you have type 2 diabetes and perform High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), try scheduling your sessions for the afternoon rather than the morning. This study found that afternoon HIIT significantly lowered 24-hour blood glucose levels, whereas morning HIIT actually increased them. This suggests aligning your workout with your body's circadian rhythm may improve your metabolic control.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Afternoon HIIT was more efficacious than morning HIIT at improving blood glucose in men with type 2 diabetes.
Mladen Savikj et al. · Diabetologia · 2018

Why this rating

Randomized crossover trial with a small sample size (n=11) and short duration (2 weeks per arm).

Source

Afternoon exercise is more efficacious than morning exercise at improving blood glucose levels in individuals with type 2 diabetes: a randomised crossover trial

Mladen Savikj et al. · Diabetologia · 2018

DOI 10.1007/s00125-018-4767-z

crossover · n=11Cited 269×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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