Exercise makes you feel happier
Exercise improves your mood by changing
the parts of the brain that regulate stress and anxiety.
No matter the intensity of your workout is
it increases the production of endorphins
which help produce positive feelings.
Exercise helps with weight loss
Inactivity is a major factor in weight gain and obesity.
Regular exercise increases your metabolic rate
which causes you burn more calories.
To keep the weight off and maintain lean muscle mass
combine aerobic exercise with resistance training.
It is good for your muscles and bones
Exercise releases hormones that promote
your muscles’ ability to absorb amino acids.
This helps them grow and reduces their breakdown.
Practicing regular physical activity is
also essential to reducing muscle loss
and maintaining strength as you age.
Furthermore
it builds bone density when you’re younger,
in addition to helping prevent osteoporosis later in life.
It increases your energy levels
As you move more,
your heart pumps more blood
and delivers more oxygen to your muscles.
This makes your heart more efficient,
improves your lung health,
reduce feelings of fatigue,
and boosts your energy.
Over time,
your lungs requires less energy to perform the same activities
and you won't get short of breath during vigorous activity.
It reduces your risk of chronic disease
Regular exercise improves insulin sensitivity,
heart health
and body composition.
And it decreases blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
It can also reduce or prevent the following chronic health conditions;
Type 2 diabetes,
heart disease,
many types of cancer,
high cholesterol,
and hypertension.
In contrast
a lack of regular exercise even in the short term
lead to increases in belly fat
which increases the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
It helps skin health
Oxidative stress occurs when the body’s
antioxidant defenses cannot completely repair the cell damage
caused by compounds known as free radicals.
This damages the structure of the cells
and negatively impact your skin.
But intense and exhaustive physical activity
contributes to oxidative damage,
that's why you should do regular moderate exercise
to increase your body’s production of natural antioxidants
and protect cells.
It also stimulates blood flow
and induce skin cell adaptations
that delay the appearance of skin aging.
It helps your brain health and memory
Exercise improves brain function
and protects memory and thinking skills.
It increases your heart rate
which promotes the flow of blood and oxygen to your brain.
and stimulates the production of hormones
that enhance the growth of brain cells.
Exercise also causes the hippocampus,
a part of the brain that’s vital for memory and learning,
to grow in size
which helps improve mental function in older adults.
Plus
it reduces changes in the brain that contribute to
conditions like Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
It helps with relaxation and sleep quality
The energy depletion that occurs during exercise
stimulates restorative processes during sleep.
In basic terms
if you wake in the morning feeling rested and refreshed,
you probably got what's called restorative sleep.
It consists of the completion of all 5 stages of sleep,
and allows the brain and body systems to be repaired,
heal and grow.
Moreover
the increase in body temperature that occurs during exercise
improves sleep quality
by helping body temperature drop during sleep.
You can be flexible with the kind of exercise you choose.
Either aerobic exercise or resistance training
both improve sleep quality.
It reduces pain
For many years
the recommendation for treating chronic pain
was rest and inactivity.
However
recent studies found that exercise relieves chronic pain
and improves quality of life.
It also helps control pain
associated with various health conditions
like chronic low back pain and fibromyalgia.
Furthermore
physical activity also raises pain tolerance
and decrease pain perception.
And last
Promotes a better sex life
Engaging in regular exercise strengthens the heart,
improves blood circulation,
tones muscles
and enhances flexibility
all of which improves your sex life.
It also improves sexual performance and sexual pleasure
while increasing the frequency of sexual activity.