9 'Good' Habits That Are A Total Waste Of Time

1. Morning Workouts

Crushing a workout in the morning not only feels like you've actually got this adult thing nailed, but also frees up your evenings for important things like going to the pub and watching Pointless in your pants.

However, in the mornings, your cortisol levels (that's the "stress hormone") are elevated and vigorous exercise is only going to make it spike more. Raised cortisol levels can have a damaging effect on the immune system and even reduce the effectiveness of your workout, negating the benefits of that early start.

Speaking of which, one contributing factor to weight gain and general ill-health is sleep deprivation, so if you're rising super-early to squeeze in a weights sesh, you might be missing out on the sleep that you need to really feel the benefit.

That's not to say that you shouldn't exercise at all. If the morning is your only option, do some less-intense cardio and make sure you grab an early night.

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