Did you know that regular physical activity can be attributed to saving nearly 4 million people from an early death each year? Not only can exercise improve your general health, it has plenty of additional benefits that range far beyond the basics of losing weight and gaining muscle.
If you’re interested in the benefits of exercise, read on to find out 5 reasons to workout and what regular physical activity can do for your body and mind.
1. Cognitive Health
Our brains are affected by physical activity in a variety of ways. Exercise releases feel-good hormones, which are good for the growth of brain cells. Our brain’s plasticity is stimulated by exercise, allowing for new connections and pathways to be formed.
In addition, exercise helps pump oxygen into the brain. Oxygen is crucial for the health of the brain as it helps stimulate brain activity. It also increases memory capacity and boosts concentration. Overall, exercise positively improves the way in which a brain functions.
2. Helps with Sleep Quality
One of the more overlooked exercise benefits is that of sleep health. Those who workout regularly may have a better chance of improving the amount of deep sleep they get each night.
Getting a good night’s rest is important on many levels as sleep is an essential function that our body and minds need to properly recharge. By implementing just a few minutes of exercise into each day, you’ll be able to feel a difference in sleep quality.
With a good night’s sleep, you’ll feel rested and ready to tackle your day.
3. Reduce Stress Levels
Choosing to exercise is a simple way in which you can reduce your levels of stress. Any form of exercise, whether it’s a walk around the block or a hot yoga class, is good for bringing stress levels down.
The most direct effect of exercise is the flood of endorphins it brings to the brain. Endorphins are our brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters. With endorphins flooding through the brain, our mood improves, confidence increases and stress is lowered.
4. Improve Energy Levels
Active people generally have steady energy levels. Why is this? Well, we’ve all heard the phrase “the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.” They create fuel from the food we nourish ourselves with and create oxygen from the air we breathe.
Excercise spurs our bodies to make more mitochondria inside the cells of our muscles. Thus, more movement means more mitochondria, and voila: an increase in the body’s energy supply!
5. Improve Heart Health
Last but certainly not least, physical activity is good for your heart health. Exercise reduces blood pressure and strengthens muscles both of which help reduce the need for the heart to work overtime.
Both aerobic and strength training workouts are good for heart health. Each form helps our muscles draw oxygen from circulating blood. Without the strength of our muscles, our heart needs to work overtime to pump blood into our muscles.
Even if you’ve only got 15 minutes, aerobic workouts such as HIIT (high-intensity interval training) can be excellent ways to improve heart health. View here for more information on ways to get your heart rate up and maximize your workout time.
Reasons to Workout
From improving our memory to improving our sleep quality and beyond, there are numerous reasons to workout. We’ve only got one body, and regular exercise is one way to keep it healthy and strong for many years to come.
If you’re looking to expand your health journey, or simply looking for new health tips and tricks to add to your day, be sure to check out the wide variety of articles we offer in our Body section.
