Any form of physical activity benefits both your physical and mental health, regardless of your age, sex, or stage of physical fitness. You should not ignore the importance of exercise because the more active you become, the more benefits you receive.
Physical Health Benefits From Regular Exercise
Increases Your Longevity
Whatever you do, if you want to improve your longevity, then improve your physical activity output. The more sedentary you are, the more you raise the chances of developing an unwanted illness or prolonging any current ones.
Working out regularly increases your chances of living longer and decreases your risk of premature death, particularly from a chronic disease.
Makes You Feel More Energetic
Physical activities help carry oxygen and nutrients to all the different parts of the body. Exercise makes your heart and lungs healthy, which helps you to be more vibrant and energetic. A sluggish system makes you feel… sluggish. The more you exercise, the more energetic you will become!
Improves Your Sleeping Pattern
If you have difficulty sleeping, regular exercise can improve the quality and efficiency of your sleep. Sleep improves your mood and energy levels, so you will feel more alert to tackle tasks the next day.
You will also feel energized to follow through with your exercise routines. It’s a win-win situation! Just don’t exercise right before going to bed, as it may perk you up too much and you won’t feel like going to sleep.
Boosts Heart Health
Exercise can strengthen your heart by improving blood circulation. Enhanced blood flow raises your oxygen levels, which helps lower your risk of heart disease. Performing at least fifteen minutes to one hour of exercise per day, even just walking at a moderate pace, can help protect you from coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attack, and stroke.
All good reasons to exercise more!
Promotes Bone and Muscle Health
Bones and muscles are strengthened by exercise. Our bones change as we age, and so too do our muscles. Over time it may result in bone density loss and muscle mass loss. Performing moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise, muscle strengthening exercises, resistance, and weight-bearing exercises are all effective exercises.
They all help increase muscle mass, boost strength and endurance, increase bone density, and protect the bones from injury. Exercise can help protect and support joints with arthritis, prevent osteoporosis, and prevent risks of falls or injuries from a lack of balance.
Exercise and Physical Activity Can Help Manage Weight
Being active throughout your day, which could be doing the housework or walking to and from work, can help you burn unwanted fat. The amount of fat burned depends on the intensity of your physical activities. If you are consistent with your exercise and add more physical activity to your day, whenever you can, you will be able to better manage your weight.
Improves Blood Sugar Levels
Exercise is an important part of the maintenance and control of blood glucose levels. Exercise also delays or prevents the onset of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. If already diagnosed, type 2 diabetics can benefit from various types of exercise, as it will help lower their blood sugar levels, improve their insulin sensitivity, and their insulin will help the blood sugar that enters their cells be used for energy more efficiently.
Enhances Brain Health
Regular physical activities, such as aerobic exercise and walking, transform the brain in a way that protects cognitive skills and memory and lessens the risk of depression and anxiety. Exercise improves your brain health, helps you learn and think, and become better at problem-solving. Regular exercise can help prevent brain fog and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s.
Reduces the Risk of Cancer
Inflammation is the body’s typical response to damage. If there is too much damage to the cells, the risk of cancer increases. Not all cancers are preventable, but you can reduce your risk in proven ways, including through exercise. As well as regular exercise, diet is important.
If you can maintain a healthy weight you will have less body fat and less inflammation, which also reduces the risk of cancer. Exercise can also help people with cancer during and after treatment because of its many health benefits.
Mental Health Benefits From Regular Exercise
Performing moderate to vigorous exercise at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, can boost your mood and give you an immediate emotional lift. Engaging in any physical activity stimulates your brain chemicals to help create a happier, less anxious you. When you exercise, even going for a walk, you will start to feel good. Take a walk and see!
It also helps to relax your body and relieve stress. You can feel the muscle tension in your face, neck, and shoulders begin to relax. It can also help prevent headaches, tightness in your chest, or insomnia caused by too much stress and anxiety. Exercise can also help treat mild to moderate depression just like an antidepressant medication, but minus the side effects.
Final Thoughts
One of the major causes of the increase in chronic diseases is an inactive lifestyle. Many people ignore the importance of being physically active and unfortunately lead a sedentary lifestyle. Being too busy is often the excuse.
However, it has been proven time and time again that increased physical activity has many health benefits. Therefore, once you have read this article, get up and get moving! You will feel better if you do!
