Like exercising? See your health benefits
Exercise can be defined as any movement that makes your muscles work and demands your body to burn calories.
There are many types of physical activities that may include swimming, running, jogging, walking and dancing, to name a few.
Being active has been seen to have many health benefits, both physically and mentally. It can even help you live longer.
Here are the top 10 ways regular exercise benefits your body and brain
Exercise has been shown to improve your mood and reduce feelings of depression, anxiety and stress.
It produces changes in the parts of the brain that regulate stress and anxiety. It can also increase brain sensitivity for the hormones serotonin and norepinephrine, which can relieve feelings of depression.
In addition, exercise can increase the production of endorphins, which can help produce positive feelings and reduce the perception of pain.
Furthermore, exercise can also reduce symptoms in people suffering from anxiety. It can help them be more aware of their mental state and practice distraction from their fears.
Interestingly, it doesn't matter how intense your exercise is. It seems that your mood can benefit from exercise regardless of the intensity of the physical activity.
In fact, a study in 24 women who had been diagnosed with depression showed that exercise of any intensity significantly reduced feelings of depression
The effects of exercise on mood are so powerful that adopting exercise even makes a difference over short periods.
One study asked 26 healthy men and women who regularly exercised to either continue exercising or stop exercising for two weeks. Those who stopped exercising experienced increase in negative mood
Some studies have revealed that inactivity is a major factor in weight gain and obesity.
To understand the effect of exercise on weight reduction, it is necessary to understand the relationship between exercise and energy expending.
Your body spends energy in three ways: digesting food, exercising and maintaining body functions like your heartbeat and breathing.
While dieting, a reduced calorie intake will reduce your metabolic rate, which will delay weight loss. On the contrary, regular exercise has been shown to increase your metabolic rate, which will burn more calories and help you lose weight.
Additionally, studies have shown that combining aerobic exercise with resistance training can maximize fat loss and muscle mass maintenance, which is important for keeping the weight off.
Exercise plays an important role in building and maintaining strong muscles and bones.
Physical activity like weight lifting can stimulate muscle building when coupled with adequate protein intake.
This is because exercise helps release hormones that promote the ability of your muscles to absorb amino acids. It helps them grow and reduce their breakdown.
As people age, they tend to lose muscle mass and function, which cause injuries and disabilities. Practicing regular physical activity is essential to reducing muscle loss and maintaining strength as you age.
Also, exercise helps build bone density when you're younger,in addition to helping prevent osteoporosis later in life.
Interestingly, high-impact exercise, like gymnastics or running, or odd-impact sports, like soccer and basketball, can promote a higher bone density than non-impact sports such as swimming and cycling.
4. It Can Increase Your Energy Levels
Exercise can be a real energy booster for healthy people, as well as those suffering from various medical conditions.
One study observed that six weeks of regular exercise reduced feelings of fatigue for 36 healthy people who had reported persistent fatigue.
Furthermore, exercise can significantly increase energy levels in people suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and other serious illnesses.
In fact, exercise seems to be more effective at combating CFS than other treatments, including passive therapies such as relaxation and stretching.
Exercise has been proved to increase energy levels in people suffering from progressive illnesses, such as cancer, HIV/AIDS and multiple sclerosis.
5.It Can Reduce Your Risk of Chronic Disease
Lack of regular physical activity is a primary cause of chronic disease.
Regular exercise can increase insulin sensitivity, cardiovascular fitness and body composition, yet decrease blood pressure and blood fat levels .
In contrast, a lack of regular exercise — even in the short term — can lead to significant increases in belly fat, which can increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and early death
Therefore, daily physical activity is advisable to reduce belly fat and decrease the risk of developing these diseases .
Your skin can be affected by the quantity of oxidative stress in your body.
Oxidative stress occurs when the body's antioxidant defenses cannot adequately repair the damage that free radicals cause to cells. This can damage their internal structures and deteriorate your skin.
Even though intense and exhaustive physical activity can contribute to oxidative damage, regular moderate exercise may inhance your body's production of natural antioxidants, which help protect cells.
the same way, exercise can stimulate blood flow and induce skin cell adaptations which can help delay the appearance of skin aging.
7.It Can Help Your Brain Health and Memory
Exercise can improve brain function and protect memory and thinking abilities.
In addition,it increases your heart rate, which promotes the flow of blood and oxygen to your brain.
It can also stimulate the production of hormones that may increase the growth of brain cells.
Moreover, the ability of exercise to prevent chronic disease can translate into benefits for your brain, because its function can be affected by these diseases.
Regular physical activitied is especially important among older adults since aging — combined with oxidative stress and inflammation — can bring about changes in brain structure and function
Exercise has been shown to cause the hippocampus, a part of the brain that's vital for memory and learning, to grow in size. This serves to improve mental function in older adults.
Lastly, exercise can reduce changes in the brain that can lead to Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.
8.It Can Help for Relaxation and Sleep Quality
Regular exercise can help you relax and sleep better.
Concerning sleep quality, the energy depletion that occurs during exercise stimulates recuperative processes during sleep.
Moreover, the increase in body temperature which occurs during exercise is believed to improve sleep quality by helping it drop during sleep
Many other studies on the effects of exercise on sleep have reached similar conclusions.
One study found that 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per week can provide up to a 65% improvement in sleep quality.
Another revealed that 16 weeks of physical activity increased sleep quality and allowed 17 people with insomnia sleep longer and more deeply than the control group. It also helped them feel more energized during the day.
What's more, engaging in regular exercise seems to be of great benefit for the elderly, who tend to be affected by sleep disorders.
You can be flexible with the kind of exercise you choose. It appears that either aerobic exercise alone or aerobic exercise combined with resistance training may equally help sleep quality
Chronic pain can be debilitating, but exercise can effectively help reduce it
In fact, for many years, the main recommendation for treating chronic pain was rest and inactivity. However, recent studies show that exercise helps relieve chronic pain.
A review of several studies indicates that exercise helps participants with chronic pain decrease their pain and improve their quality of life
Several studies show that exercise can help control painassociated with various health conditions, including chronic low back pain, fibromyalgia and chronic soft tissue shoulder disorder and many others.
In addition, physical activity can also raise pain tolerance and decrease pain perception.
10. It Can Promote a Better Sex Life
Exercise is able to boost sex drive.Enggaging in regular exercise can strengthen the cardiovascular system, regulate blood circulation, tone muscles and enhance flexibility, all of which can improve your sex life.
Physical activity can inhance sexual performance and sexual pleasure, as well as increase the frequency of sexual activity.
A group of women in their 40s observed that they experienced orgasms more frequently after they have incorporated more strenuous exercise, such as sprints, boot camps and weight training, into their lifestyles
Also, among a group of 178 healthy men, the one who reported more exercise hours per week had higher sexual function scores.
One study revealed that a simple routine of a six-minute walk around the house helped 41 men reduce their erectile dysfunction symptoms by 71%.
Another study performed in 78 sedentary men showed how 60 minutes of walking per day (three and a half days per week, on average) improved their sexual behavior, including frequency, proper functioning and satisfaction
What's more, a study showed that women suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome, which can reduce sex drive, increased their sex drive with regular resistance training for 16 weeks.
To Summarize
Exercise offers incredible benefits that can improve almost every aspect of your health from the inside out.
Regular physical activity can improve the production of hormones that make you feel happier and help you sleep better.
It can also improve your skin's appearance, help you lose weight and keep it off lower the risk of chronic disease and improve your sex life.
Whether you practice a specific sport or follow the guideline of 150 minutes of activity per week, you can inevitably improve your health in many ways.
Lastly, exercise can reduce changes in the brain that can lead to Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.
8.It Can Help for Relaxation and Sleep Quality
Regular exercise can help you relax and sleep better.
Concerning sleep quality, the energy depletion that occurs during exercise stimulates recuperative processes during sleep.
Moreover, the increase in body temperature which occurs during exercise is believed to improve sleep quality by helping it drop during sleep.
The increase in body temperature that occurs during exercise can help to improve sleep quality by leading it drop during sleep.
Many other studies on the effects of exercise on sleep have reached similar conclusions.
One study found that 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per week can provide up to a 65% improvement in sleep quality.
Another revealed that 16 weeks of physical activity increased sleep quality and allowed 17 people with insomnia sleep longer and more deeply than the control group. It also helped them feel more energized during the day.
What's more, engaging in regular exercise seems to be of great benefit for the elderly, who tend to be affected by sleep disorders.
You can be flexible with the kind of exercise you choose. It appears that either aerobic exercise alone or aerobic exercise combined with resistance training may equally help sleep quality
Chronic pain can be debilitating, but exercise can effectively help reduce it
In fact, for many years, the main recommendation for treating chronic pain was rest and inactivity. However, recent studies show that exercise helps relieve chronic pain.
A review of several studies indicates that exercise helps participants with chronic pain decrease their pain and improve their quality of life
Several studies show that exercise can help control painassociated with various health conditions, including chronic low back pain, fibromyalgia and chronic soft tissue shoulder disorder and many others.
In addition, physical activity can also raise pain tolerance and decrease pain perception.
10. It Can Promote a Better Sex Life
Exercise is able to boost sex drive.Enggaging in regular exercise can strengthen the cardiovascular system, regulate blood circulation, tone muscles and enhance flexibility, all of which can improve your sex life.
Physical activity can inhance sexual performance and sexual pleasure, as well as increase the frequency of sexual activity.
A group of women in their 40s observed that they experienced orgasms more frequently after they have incorporated more strenuous exercise, such as sprints, boot camps and weight training, into their lifestyles
Also, among a group of 178 healthy men, the one who reported more exercise hours per week had higher sexual function scores.
One study revealed that a simple routine of a six-minute walk around the house helped 41 men reduce their erectile dysfunction symptoms by 71%.
Another study performed in 78 sedentary men showed how 60 minutes of walking per day (three and a half days per week, on average) improved their sexual behavior, including frequency, proper functioning and satisfaction
What's more, a study showed that women suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome, which can reduce sex drive, increased their sex drive with regular resistance training for 16 weeks.
To Summarize
Exercise offers incredible benefits that can improve almost every aspect of your health from the inside out.
Regular physical activity can improve the production of hormones that make you feel happier and help you sleep better.
It can also improve your skin's appearance, help you lose weight and keep it off lower the risk of chronic disease and improve your sex life.
Whether you practice a specific sport or follow the guideline of 150 minutes of activity per week, you can inevitably improve your health in many ways.
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