1 . For everyone who hates setting their alarm an hour earlier to hit the gym, scientists may have some good news.

Afternoon workouts lead to better outcomes for some people, according to a study published this year. The study, which looked at men who are at risk for or have Type2 diabetes (糖尿病) found that participants who exercised in the afternoon experienced more metabolic (新陈代谢的) benefits as well as more positive effects on their exercise performance and fat mass compared to participants who exercised in the morning.

“Our body has a biological clock and this regulates many processes in the body and these processes have a rhythm,” said Patrick Schrauwen, a professor of metabolic aspects of Type 2 diabetes at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.

“Some of these are well known, like your body temperature and your blood pressure.” Schrauwen said. “Our biological clocks also influence our metabolism and whether our bodies burn fat or carbohydrates at certain times,” he added. And for study participants who were fat or at risk for Type 2 diabetes, those fat-burning processes were more efficient in the afternoon hours. Higher body temperatures in the afternoon may also help improve corporal performance, almost like a built-in daily warm-up.

“When you start to realize how strong this biological clock can be and then if you do the things like food intake on the wrong time of the day, or being active on the wrong time of the day or being inactive at times when you should be active, this can have a major influence.” Schrauwen added. “The good news is that you can also use it for your benefit.”

It can be especially helpful for competitive athletes or people training for a race to exercise in the afternoon of a day. For example, Schrauwen said he worked with a football team that was able to improve their performance by moving practice to the afternoon.

2 . Feeling sleepy in the middle of the day? There are many reasons why we get sleepy in the afternoon. Bad lighting, a poor night’s sleep, a boring job, large (carb-heavy) lunches, and more can all contribute to head-bobbing at your desk or falling into a light sleep during a meeting. The best course of action would be to find the root cause of your sleep issue and fix it, but most of us simply head for the coffee pot or the cafe. Instead of that, try climbing some stairs.

Well, now exercise researchers have discovered that walking up and down lights of stairs for about 10 minutes actually gives you a more effective boost (提高) of energy than drinking 50 milligrams of caffeine greedily (the average amount of caffeine found in a cup of coffee, tea, or soda).

In a study called Stair walking, the researchers enlisted 18 “physically active” college women between the ages 18 and 23. The participants reported experiencing chronically poor sleep, adding up to an average of fewer than 45 hours of shuteye each week in the past few years. And they are often a lack of available time during the workday for a dedicated exercise session.

The researchers chose stair climbing as the exercise of choice. Walking up and down the stairs requires no specific clothing, travel time, or even a shower afterward. During the study, on some days the participants alternated (交替) between taking 50-milligram caffeine pills or a placebo. On the other days, they skipped the caffeine (real or otherwise) and climbed up and down the stairs, at a moderate pace, for 10 minutes.

At the conclusion of the study, the researchers acknowledged that there is more research to be done (when isn’t that the case?) but concluded that “A short period of low-to-moderate intensity stair walking has temporary energizing effects that exceed a low dose of caffeine for active young women with chronic insufficient sleep.”

So, the next time you find yourself nodding off mid-afternoon, why not give stairs a try?

6 . In the early 1970s, the boogie board (趴板冲浪) was born. So was Charlotte Gumbrell’s _________ for riding the waves. Fifty years later, Gumbrell is still at it, as the _________ member of the Newcomers Club of San Dieguito’s Boogie Board group.

Gumbrell, 95, is among a group of about two-dozen women who _________ up to three times a week for board surfing _________ in the San Diego area. The rest of the women who _________ gather are in their 70s and 80s.

“I always _________ better with my brain when I go boogie boarding. I’m sure this sport _________,” said Gumbrell. “Every year I say this is going to be my last year out there, but then I just _________ going.”

Recently, about 20 members of the group arrived for a _________ session of rides on 6-to 8-foot waves at Fletcher Cove. Whenever a __________ would catch a wave, the others cheered with __________. And as they rode into shore, __________ on their bellies, there was always at least one member standing nearby to help them __________.

It’s more than just a sport. Member Pam Shelter __________ the group about six years ago. She had bodysurfing in her younger years and __________ coming back to the sport in a more social way that has introduced her to many new __________ friends. “I never go out __________. In the others I find safety and __________. That’s what makes it interesting,” Shelter said.

Carol German, here for nearly 15 years, said she most enjoys the __________ she’s found among her fellow boogie boarders. “We have so much __________ out there,” German said. “If somebody catches a wave, everybody laughs and celebrates.”

7 . Koch’s Favorite Fitness Apps

People spent money on gym memberships. But according to fitness and tech reporter Peter Koch, 67 percent of them never went. It may be wise then to try a fitness app, many of which are more cost-effective than going to a health club.

Aaptiv

Aaptiv allows users to choose from a variety of different workouts, including stretching classes, yoga classes，boxing and weightlifting, according to Koch. It also provides guided audio(音频) workouts, so there’s no reason to look at a phone screen, he says.

Nike + Run Club

Nike + Run Club doesn’t just track and log your runs with a GPS, Koch says, it also provides audio— guided runs. “I’m a runner myself since high school, and the one thing I see among inexperienced runners is that they tend to go out and run roughly the same distance at roughly the same pace every time,” Koch says. “It’s easy to understand why their fitness might plateau or they might lose interest over time.”

Fitbod

“What’s really interesting about Fitbod is that it uses AI, or artificial intelligence,” explains Koch. “Every time you hit the weights,” he says, “it’s not only guiding you step by step through each exercise—including the weight, number of sets and reps— but it also takes your performance from that day and uses it to adjust your plan going forward for upcoming sessions.”

Keelo

Keelo is considered a smart program, meaning the app adjusts according to users’ progress. The app centers on high-intensity interval training, looks at users’ exercise history and adjust each workout accordingly, says Koch. “That’s a huge aspect of these newer training apps,” he says. “They use this artificial intelligence.”