A doctor has opened up about why she would never wake up early to exercise, as she calls out influencers who promote morning routines that disrupt sleep.
Nicole Van Groningen, 37, from Los Angeles, has nearly 38,000 followers on TikTok, where she shares health and wellness tips as a general internist.
The content creator, who uses the handle @dr.nicole.vangroningenwent viral after I revealed a list of ‘things you’ll never see me do as a doctor’ – including waking up early to exercise.
“Don’t let any influencer convince you that it’s best to reduce your sleep time so you can go to the gym and work out and build a better body,” she said. ‘Sleep is the most important wellness habit. End of story. Period of time.’
Nicole Van Groningen, 37, from Los Angeles, went viral on TikTok after revealing the things she would ‘never’ do as a doctor
The internist caused a furore when she said she would never get up early to exercise
Van Groningen also listed other things she would never do, such as riding a motorcycle or cycling without a helmet.
The doctor added that she would not blame people for their health conditions, or judge someone’s health based on how they look.
“I would never go out in the sun without sunscreen, preferably zinc oxide, even for five minutes,” she continued. “I admit that this is partly health reasons and partly vanity.”
Van Groningen concluded her video by saying that she would never insist on “doing things naturally” or think that “nature knows best.”
‘A natural approach can be absolutely wonderful, but do you know what happened in those natural times before the age of vaccines, antibiotics and other aspects of modern medicine? Nature dictated that many people died,” she noted.
Van Groningen’s video has been viewed 1.4 million times since it was posted on November 4 and has received more than 2,000 responses.
Many night owls were fans of her recommendation to sleep in instead of waking up at the crack of dawn to work up a sweat.
“You are so real because of the sleep advice,” one person wrote.
“Don’t let any influencer convince you that it’s best to reduce your sleep time so you can go to the gym and exercise and build a better body,” she said.
Van Groningen’s video has been viewed 1.4 million times since it was posted on November 4 and has received more than 2,000 responses
“I will NEVER get up early to go to the gym now. Doctor’s orders!!!!!’ another added.
‘Sleep is my favorite, so thank you for this support!’ someone else responded.
However, others were confused and wanted to know why they shouldn’t get up early to exercise before work.
‘You can exercise in the morning and still sleep 8 hours? Just go to bed earlier,” one person commented.
Van Groningen answered the questions in a follow-up video after realizing some people didn’t understand what she meant.
“When I say I don’t get up early to work out, I’m not talking about a specific time because early is relative,” she explained.
“Some people say three in the morning is early; other people say 8am is early. I’m one of those last people.’
Van Groningen made it clear in a follow-up video that she is not against exercising in the morning if you get enough sleep
“I wouldn’t cut my sleep short to exercise,” she explained
Van Groningen clarified that she simply meant that she would not wake up until she had gotten enough sleep to train.
“I wouldn’t cut my sleep short to exercise,” she continued.
‘One of the main reasons for that is that we know that exercise in small chunks, when you add it up, actually has the same effect, whereas sleep doesn’t really follow that pattern.
“You need to sleep more or less continuously to have good sleep quality.”
The internist noted that you are more likely to exercise later in the day than sleep, but she is not against exercising in the morning.
Van Groningen said if you’re someone who goes to bed early and gets enough sleep before waking up to exercise, she thinks that’s “fantastic.”
“Personally, I wouldn’t do that because my energy in the morning is absolutely terrible and I need four cups of coffee before I feel like a human being,” she added.
“But if it works for you, I think that’s great.”