How to spend the perfect healthy Super Saturday – according to science

Earlier this week, the kind of research came along that makes those of us with office jobs or school runs grit our teeth: exercising between 7am and 9am may be the secret to successful weight management.

The research, published in The Obesity Society’s (TOS) journal, analysed 5,285 participants who were divided into morning, midday and evening exercisers. Those who exercised between 7am and 9am had lower body mass indexes and smaller waists than those who exercised at midday or in the evening, found researchers from Franklin Pierce University and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

This is all very well for them, but where does it leave those of us who don’t have time to exercise during what can be the busiest hours of the week? Step forward “Super Saturday”, the day when – according to experts – we can reap the health benefits of timing our exercise, eating, and even sleeping habits, to keep us healthy all week.

Matt Roberts, a personal trainer who has worked with Naomi Campbell and David and Samantha Cameron, agrees that today is the ideal day to reset your health.

“We have a little more time to get into a good routine and develop some good habits, and these tiny Saturday ‘health nudges’ can lead us to have a healthier week overall,” he said.

Here is how…

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The science when we wake up is pretty clear: “Aim to wake up at the same time each day, even at the weekend,” says Dr Neil Stanley, a sleep expert and author of How to Sleep Well: The Science of Sleeping Smarter, Living Better and Being Productive.

Not only does a regular sleep pattern set your circadian rhythm – your internal body clock, which regulates cell regeneration, insulin and hormone production – it can also improve heart health. A 2020 study found adults with irregular sleeping habits are almost twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease as those who wake up at the same time every day. The researchers, from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the US, found waking up at the same time is as good for your heart as exercise and a healthy diet. While they found adults over 45 who woke up at different times throughout the week were more likely to have hardened arteries.

“If you wake up at the same time each day your body will begin to prepare you by releasing the hormone cortisol 90 minutes before you wake,” says Dr Stanley. “It’s often thought of as the ‘stress hormone’, but it’s also the ‘give you a kick up the arse to get out of bed hormone’, and helps us feel less groggy and more refreshed in the mornings.”

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Make the most of the light mornings and get outside upon waking.

“There’s an interesting trend right now, led by the American neuroscientist and podcaster Andrew Huberman, on the benefits of light exposure first thing,” says Roberts. “It helps our brain engage, wake up, and releases the happiness and optimism hormone, serotonin.”

According to Huberman, light exposure activates cells that wake up the brain and body, before setting a “timer” on the hormones related to sleep. Studies have found that light exposure early in the day increases melatonin levels at night, helping us to sleep better.

For Roberts, this involves simply stepping outside soon after waking – without sunglasses, to get the full effect of the light – and putting his face to the morning sky. You get the best results on a sunny morning, but any daylight (even an overcast day) has benefits.

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As the new study showed, an early morning workout helps maintain a healthy weight. Similarly, a 2018 study, published in the International Journal of Obesity, put 2,680 people on a weekly exercise plan involving three 30-minute cardio sessions and found those who worked out first thing made healthier food choices throughout the day.

Meanwhile, a 2019 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that morning exercise resulted in better concentration and decision-making. Lastly, a 2014 study found adults slept better when they’d completed a morning workout.

“Your body starts burning off energy much earlier in the day,” says Roberts. “If you exercise in the evening, your body shuts down when you’re asleep, and along with it your metabolism.”

Another benefit of a morning workout is it tends to lead to healthier choices throughout the day, and you’re less likely to forgo exercise altogether as life takes over.

“The ideal day should start with a 30-minute walk followed by your breakfast. Then later on do something of higher intensity.”

This doesn’t always have to involve a gym class. At the weekend, it could be a bike ride, a game of tennis, some gardening, or a vigorous cleanout involving some lifting.

“You want to be moving and lifting, which will raise your heart rate, increase your circulation and get your joints moving.”

On that note, however, Roberts says that an afternoon or evening workout – while less effective than a morning one – is better than no workout at all.

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“There is no one-size-fits-all all when it comes to breakfast, but some people find that pushing it back to 10 or 11am provides the health benefits of a mini-fast,” says Sam Rice, nutritionist and author of Supercharge Your Diet. “However, if you wake up feeling ravenous then listen to your hunger and eat.”

The main thing, she says, is to focus on having a balanced breakfast containing complex carbs, plenty of lean protein and some healthy fats. During the week a healthy option would be peanut butter on brown toast or natural yoghurt with berries and granola.

“But it’s easier to eat a balanced breakfast at the weekend and one of the most nutritious breakfasts to opt for would be smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on whole grain toast with a side of wilted spinach.”

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A study published in June found that adults aged between 40 and 69 who take short daytime naps can protect their brains against ageing and lower their risk of dementia.

“Data shows a 20-minute nap is optimal for our health and can increase alertness and performance in the afternoon,” says Russell Foster, a professor of Circadian Neuroscience at the University of Oxford and author of Life Time: The New Science of the Body Clock, and How It Can Revolutionise Your Sleep and Health.

However, he says that naps over 20 minutes long – or too close to bedtime – can cause us to feel even groggier. Lastly, if you can’t nap, a “quiet period of rest” is just as restorative. The worst kind of nap? “On the train or in front of the TV in the evening, which will impact your sleep that evening.”

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According to a 2022 study by Harvard Medical School, when it comes to your evening meal, the earlier the better. “We wanted to test the mechanisms that may explain why late eating increases obesity risk,” explained study author, professor Frank Scheer. “Previous research by us and others had shown that late evening eating is associated with increased obesity risk, increased body fat, and impaired weight loss success. We wanted to understand why.”

They discovered eating later also has a profound effect on hunger, and the appetite-regulating hormones leptin and ghrelin. They also found that late eaters tended to crave more starchy, saltier and energy-dense foods.

“However, the time you have your evening meal is less important than how many hours it is before bed,” adds Rice. “The Sleep Foundation advises having it 2-4 hours before bedtime to ensure it doesn’t impact the quality of your sleep.”

Celebrity nutritionist Gabriela Peacock, author of 2 Weeks To A Younger You, agrees: “I like to eat my last meal by 8pm. But don’t get too hung up on this. If you have a fun Saturday dinner at 9pm, that’s fine. Just push your breakfast back by an hour the next day so that your body has a period of fasting to rest and repair. I like a ‘repair window’ of 16 hours, which means I eat all my meals in an eight-hour window. For example, between 11am and 7pm.”

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We all have an individual sleep window of ten minutes that’s the “absolute ideal time to go to sleep,” says Dr Stanley. “The problem is, unless we undergo vigorous testing in a sleep clinic most of us have absolutely no idea when that personal window is. And we’re too busy bingeing on Netflix to find out.”

The solution is relatively simple: “The key is to go to bed when you feel sleepy, and in an ideal world at the same time each night, even at weekends.” The problem is, of course, Saturday night isn’t made for early bedtimes when there are dinners with friends, parties and film nights to fit in.

But whether you go to bed at 10pm or 3am, Dr Stanley advises that you should try and wake up at the same time tomorrow.

“It’s better for your overall health to have a rigid morning routine than a rigid night-time one.” And at least, on a Sunday, you can have a nap to make up for it.