Maximizing your miles

By Roberta Macinnis, Houston Chronicle

June 9--Can't sleep at night? Exercise in the morning.

That's just one bit of news you might be able to use from the American College of Sports Medicine's annual meeting last week in Denver. Topics ranged from the biomechanics of muscle contraction to the effectiveness of the hula hoop as a weight-loss tool. There also were a few that should interest runners.

Runners tend to have strong preferences about when they like to exercise. Though research has proved that runners perform better later in the day, early birds can embrace the results reported by scientists at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C.

Previous studies have shown that exercise can improve sleep quality, but researchers wondered if the timing of that exercise could boost its impact. So they recruited six males and three females and had each visit the university's lab on three separate occasions at pre-determined times -- 7 a.m., 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. -- for 30 minutes of treadmill running. At night, the subjects wore headbands to measure sleep-stage time and sleep quality.

When the subjects had exercised in the morning, they experienced markedly greater improvements in their sleep compared to the later sessions, spending 85 percent more time in light sleep and 75 percent more time in deep sleep. The early session also caused a 20 percent increase in sleep-cycle frequency.

Studying suds

Everything from chocolate milk to cherries has been touted as a great post-workout fuel. Now you can add nonalcoholic beer to the list. German researchers have discovered that the beverage reduces inflammation and upper-respiratory infections, which can occur more often following strenuous exercise.

Dr. Johannes Scherr and his team evaluated nearly 280 healthy male runners for three weeks before and two weeks after the Munich Marathon. The researchers randomly assigned each participant about 1.5 liters of nonalcoholic beer or a placebo drink each day, then analyzed multiple blood samples taken before and after the race.

"Our findings show that consuming a modest amount of nonalcoholic beer for three weeks before and two weeks after a marathon indeed reduces post-race inflammation and the incidence of upper-respiratory tract infections," Scherr said.

That's because nonalcoholic beer, like fruits, vegetables and red wine, contains polyphenols, a group of chemicals that have strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.

Scherr said real beer contains even more polyphenols.

"But from the viewpoint of a physician, I cannot recommend you drink alcoholic beer," he said.

Reverse physiology

As any runner who's ever injured his knee can tell you, it's a pain. But here's some hope: People with knee injuries who pedaled backward on treadmills and elliptical machines recovered more muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness than those who pedaled forward, another study found.

Thirty-nine people with various knee injuries were randomly divided into forward- and backward-pedaling groups. All then attended 24 rehab sessions, which included exercises to improve strength, balance and flexibility.

After completing the sessions, the groups showed little difference in balance and flexibility. But those who pedaled backward averaged about 9 percent greater aerobic capacity. They also had stronger quadriceps and hamstrings than those who pedaled forward.

Dr. Elmarie Terblanche, who led the study, said the results were encouraging because so many people suffer knee injuries, not only while participating in sports but also in daily life.

roberta.macinnis@chron.com

-----

To see more of the Houston Chronicle, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.HoustonChronicle.com.

Copyright (c) 2011, Houston Chronicle

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com.