Sunny Health

It's been often asked which is better: to jog in the day or at night? Given that for most people who are working, it is well almost impossible to jog in the daylight hours. Of course there are the run hour joggers, who would sacrifice their break to get a good run. But even then, often they may run in the city area where the air may not be fresh. In fact I recalled many years ago in the Indiana University campus in Indianapolis US, I first encountered people running during the lunch hour. Certainly at that time it wasn't the trend in Singapore to run during the midday.

I guess there are few office workers who are fortunate enough to be able to get out of the office by 5pm and be all dressed for the run by 6pm or earlier. Most people get home around 7pm or later, have dinner and - well the daylight is well gone.  So moonlight runners are what many are compelled to do if they want to keep their jobs and keep their health.

There are of course the early birds who get up at 5am and hit the tracks by 5.30am or 6am for a good one hour exercise. They take a bath and is all freshen up and ready to take on the world by the time they sit at their office desk at 8.30am. But what time do they have to sleep to get up so early? One pal told me he gets into bed by 9pm, which leaves him with little time to spend with their family and certainly not much of TV.

Some runners will swear that it all depends on your biological clock. If you're an early riser then by all means do the jog at sun rise; and if you are a late sleeper, then go for the evening run. Having done both running at dawn and in the late evening, I find it more relaxing to do so under the moonlit sky. Reason: the day is behind me and I don't have to worry about rushing home, get a bathe and hit the road to get to the office on time. Besides, it is very nice and cool to run at night. Just be a little more safety conscious and don't ask for trouble by running into the darkest corners and risk getting mugged.

At the end of the day, whichever is your choice, what's important is to hit the tracks, get at least 30 minutes of exercise, to stay healthy. Don't you think so?