Regular physical exercises improve your blood sugar control, weight, mental health, sex drive, bone health, lung capacity and more.
Having known these facts, we still failed to engage in regular exercise most of the time. Inability to manage time is the biggest reason, while inadequate support and lack of facilities are other reasons.
However, it is worth exploring the proven benefits of the exercises. This article will discuss the benefits of regular exercise to improve your health.
1. Physical exercise strengthens the muscles and bones
Exercise is the best choice to build muscles and get stronger bones.
According to the National Institute of Health, activities like walking, hiking, jogging, climbing stairs, dancing, and weightlifting can help strengthen the bones.
These exercises force you to work against gravity which can help build strong muscles. Daily activities also help release hormones that promote muscles’ ability to absorb amino acids. This helps grow muscles stronger.
Interestingly, regular exercise helps people with existing osteoporosis. Evidence suggests that regular physical activity optimizes peak bone mass, thus preventing osteoporosis in later life.
2. Physical exercise supports weight loss
Weight reduction is one of the significant benefits of regular exercise. Stanford research shows that inactivity (sedentary lifestyle) rather than high-calorie intake could be the reason for obesity.
Regular exercise increases the body’s metabolic rate that, helps burn extra fat around the body and increases lean body mass. The American Diabetic Association reports that exercise contributes significantly to weight loss. Still, it is essential to determine the exercise intensity and duration over the long term.
Experts of Mayo Clinic suggest more than 30 minutes of daily physical exercise is required to meet your fitness goals.
3. Physical exercise improves mental wellbeing
A quite significant number of people now report extreme stress. It is one of the considerable problems in the U.S and other parts of the world, as highlighted by the American Psychological Association.
There are several reasons for poor mental health. Still, the good news is to exercise a low-cost, side effect free but effective method to manage the problem.
Health professionals indicate that regular physical activity bumps up the production of the brain’s feel-good chemicals known as endorphins.
Exercise also helps reduce the level of stress hormones in the body, such as cortisol and adrenaline.
Balancing the amount of these hormones in the blood through exercise can help increase self-confidence, improve mood, and lower stress and depression.
4. Helps to manage blood sugar
Exercise plays a vital role in controlling blood glucose levels.
Regular physical exercise improves insulin sensitivity and helps manage blood glucose levels.
Insulin sensitivity refers to how actively the body cells respond to insulin. High insulin sensitivity allows the cells to use blood glucose more effectively, thus reducing blood sugar levels.
According to experts, regular physical exercise reduces the risk of getting diabetes and developing metabolic syndrome.
5. Physical exercise makes the skin healthy
For glowing, flawless skin, daily exercise is the best option.
Exercise increases blood flow that provides oxygen and all-important nutrients to the skin. This helps nourish the skin cells and keep them vibrant. In addition, improved blood circulation carries away the wastes from the skin, which aids in preventing the formation of acne.
In addition, exercise also delays ageing and keeps skin younger.
Research done by the University of Birmingham found that older people who have exercised daily have shown evidence of slowing down the ageing process and having the immunity of a young person.
6. Reduces the risk of heart diseases
According to the American Heart Association, regular exercise favours many established risk factors for heart diseases.
Your heart needs physical activity like other muscles to get stronger and healthier. During exercise, the oxygen demand from muscles increases, causing the heart to increase its pumping activity. So simply, when you run, muscles in your leg and the heart start to work.
Additionally, exercise helps increase HDL (good) cholesterol levels and reduces the LDL (bad) cholesterol in circulation.
According to studies, heart attack deaths are reduced to 20 to 25% among patients who did regular physical exercises.
7. Physical exercise improves posture
A good posture also called a neutral spine, is when your weight sits right over your feet and keeps the body balanced while standing upright.
Daily exercise targeting the core and upper back muscle groups helps balance and avoid slouching.
A 2015 study also supports that regular exercise corrects posture and relaxes the whole body, relieving musculoskeletal pain.
8. Physical exercises reduce anxiety
Physical exercise is a well-known stress buster and can also be an effective tool in reducing anxiety. Studies have shown that regular physical activity can improve symptoms of anxiety disorders and prevent them from developing in the first place.
One of the reasons physical exercise is so effective in reducing anxiety is that it promotes the release of endorphins, chemicals in the brain that act as natural painkillers and mood elevators. These endorphins can help reduce stress and anxiety and improve overall mood.
Physical exercise also helps to reduce muscle tension and improve sleep, both of which can contribute to feelings of anxiety. By engaging in regular physical activity, you can improve your overall physical health, which can help reduce anxiety symptoms.
The Bottom Line
Physical exercises improve your life in many ways. For example, it improves blood glucose, weight, bone health, sex drive, brain function and quality of life.
You should engage in 30 min of moderate-intensity exercises for at least 5 days a week or 60 min of exercise at least 3 days a week. If you choose to do more, your body will accept the new challenge and take you to a new level.
