12 Reasons to Run in the Morning, According to Reddit

We’ve often discussed how to exercise in the morning, from how to actually get out of bed to what you eat once you do. But it’s also worth taking a minute to ask why. What do morning runners know that the rest of us don’t? Do they actually enjoy it? And how can you and I harness that enthusiasm?

Let’s listen in to the runners of Reddit, who chimed in to support an evening runner who needed to work up the motivation to switch to early workouts.

Fewer cars

As hard as it is to pry yourself out of bed, the solitude and sunrise are worth it for many runners. Another plus this redditor points out: if you get up early enough, there’s a lot less traffic.

You’ll free up time to play video games

Rather than stealing hours of your sleep, it can help to think of running in the early morning as gifting yourself hours to use later in the day.

The weather is nicer

Whether you’re working around the heat of summer or the pollution on an air-alert day, running in the morning often means nicer weather.

Morning is great for wildlife watching

Birds love the morning, and animals of many kinds are more active when people aren’t around. I often see deer on morning runs, for example. (There’s a fix for the spiderweb problem, by the way: pick up a stick, and when you get to a spot where the trees are particularly close together, run with the stick held in front of you like an Olympic torch.)

Never run on a full stomach again

Some morning runners don’t eat breakfast before they head out; others have a tried-and-true morning meal that is small and doesn’t upset their stomach. Either way, you don’t have to worry that your only chance to run will come right after a big dinner.

The arseholes are asleep

Want to be left alone? You have a better chance of it in the early morning: It turns out catcallers need to sleep, too.

Know you’ve accomplished at least one thing today

A stressful day of work (or school, or parenting) can get into your head and make it hard to add another task to your day. If you’ve already gotten your run out of the way in the early morning, you have fewer obligations from that point forward.

Get to know the regulars

The few people out in the morning tend to be other runners, dog walkers, and various people doing their own thing. You’ll get to know them by sight (and they you), even if you never exchange a word.

Make that runner’s high last all day

Many folks run for the mental health benefits, so why not maximise them? As several redditors pointed out, that post-run high can last all day, rather than just giving you a few good hours before bedtime.

Make room for spontaneity

Getting your run out of the way early means you’ve opened up your schedule for other opportunities that may arise throughout the day. You’ve also already done something good for yourself, which this redditor points out can make you feel like you’re in a better place to help others.

Enjoy stargazing

If you wake up early enough, it’s still technically nighttime. Instead of dreading the early dark, why not see it as a plus? You’ll might spot a morning star or two — in other words, a brightly visible planet — and other nightscape features as well. If you play Pokémon Go, a surplus of ghost type pokémon are apparently also a plus of running in the wee hours.

Know you won’t be missed

Solitude is great, but what’s even better than other people not being around? That’s right, other people not even thinking about you. You won’t need to field any calls or texts if your friends and family and co-workers haven’t woken up yet.