17 BENEFITS OF PHYSICAL EXERCISES FOR A HEALTHY LIFE

Many people consider physical exercise for granted. However, apart from having a balanced diet, physical exercises are ideal for our good health. There are many benefits both physical and psychological that are contributed by exercise. Physical exercises are important for all ages starting from young people to adults. Health facts from World Health Organization (WHO), recommended one to three hours of exercise for people aged between 6 and 65. Some of the physical activities are swimming, running, jogging, walking, dancing, etc.

The following are the benefits of exercise for a healthy life

1.  Strengthens muscles and bones

Physical activities help in building and making muscles and bones stronger. The development of muscles and bones reduces muscle loss and bone injuries respectively. Exercises such as gymnastics, running, soccer, or basketball promote high bone density. While sports like swimming or cycling make muscles and bones strong. In kids and teens, regular exercises help to strengthen bones. Doing physical exercises at the age of 30 and above helps to reduce muscle mass loss and bone density. Lack of exercise at this age victimizes many women with skin loss, joint pain, and osteoporosis. On the contrary, strengthening exercises improves the mineral density of the bones thereby protecting them from osteoporosis.

2.  Make you feel happier

Physical exercises induce changes in the parts of the brain that regulates stress and anxiety. They can also boost brain sensitivity to the hormones; serotonin and norepinephrine, which relieve feelings of depression. Moreover, endorphin production increases which reduces the perception of pain while producing positive feelings. Exercise reduces the accumulation of harmful oxygen in the body that induces stress and increases a positive mood that makes you feel better and active.  

3.  Lowers high blood pressure

Hypertension or high blood pressure is caused by bad eating habits, sedentary lifestyles, and probably inherited genes. Mostly, hypertension leads to heart attack, stroke, and in some cases death. Fortunately, regular physical exercises reduce the fortuities of high blood pressure as they make the heart stronger. The stronger heart pumps blood with less effort, by the way, reducing high blood pressure. Several studies consistently show the effectiveness of physical activities on hypertension cases. For instance, several times findings indicate reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure with as much as 5-7 mmHg reductions in those with hypertension.

4.  Improves digestion

Physical activities induce and enhance peristalsis actions along the alimentary canal or digestive tract. This action improves and quickens digestion effectively. As a result, it prevents constipation, one of the digestive problems.

5.  Increase energy levels

Exercise also effectively reduces the feelings of persistent fatigue. In this way, it boosts general body energy. Particularly, the heart and lungs benefit from exercise.  Aerobic exercise boosts the cardiovascular system and improves lung health which can eventually help increase energy levels. Strenuous exercises increase breathing rate and blood flow also increases, the process which absorbs more oxygen for the production of the energy required during the exercise.

6.  Boost confidence levels

Conducting exercises makes you feel energetic and capable of doing anything. You become more confident in your abilities. 

7.  Increase lifespan

The fact that exercises reduce the risks of diseases such as heart disease, cancers, skin diseases, etc., strengthens and provides body energy, and the risks of becoming sick and even death are reduced.

8.  Reduces risks of some cancer

Regular exercise also reduces the occurrences of cancers such as colon, breast, uterine, and lung cancer.

9.  Improve your sleep

After vigorous exercise, you are tired. This condition makes you sleep faster and longer.

10.              Help to control your weight

Our bodies spend energy in three ways

·       Digesting food

·       Exercising

·       Maintaining body functions, like heartbeat and breathing

              Therefore, regular exercises increase metabolic rate which can burn more calories to help us lose weight.  The more intense the activity, the more calories you burn, and vice versa. Lack of exercise increases the chances of weight gain and obesity and you feel flexible.

11.              Help to quit some addictive behavior

Exercise can help someone to quit smoking, for example. If you feel smoking cravings just try to conduct some exercises. Your attention is turned away from the smoking feeling and it is easier to withdraw from the habit. Try this exercise habit whenever you are craving smoking.

12.              Reduce your risk of falls/ improves balance and posture

Regular exercise makes one’s body strong and muscular, and in the bone. This helps to keep you including older people balance when they stand. 

13.              Reduce the risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Regular activity reduces or delays type 2 diabetes by improving fat mass, blood pressure, lean body mass, insulin resistance, and glycemic control. People with type 1 diabetes also benefit from physical exercise.

14.              Boost brain function and memory

Physical exercise boosts brain function and protects memory and thinking skills. In one of the scenarios, exercise increases the heart rate which promotes the flow of blood and oxygen in the brain. Again, this induces the production of hormones that improve the development of brain cells. Exercises offer the ability to prevent chronic diseases which may extend to the brain.

15.              Promote better s*x life

Regular exercise boosts and strengthens the heart, improves blood circulation, tone muscles, and enhance flexibility. All these processes improve sexual life. Regular exercises improve s*xual performance and sexual pleasure while increasing the frequency of s*xual activity.

16.              Improve skin health

Studies found that exercises improve skin health in several ways. Firstly, physical activity improves the blood floor to nourish cells (with vital nutrients) for effective cellular repair and replacement. This includes all body cells including skin cells. Secondly, the improved blood floor removes toxins from the skin. Another function of improved blood floor is that it prevents and reverses signs of aging. In past research, dermatologists believed that exercises could only help keep the skin healthier, but recently, it shows that exercises may reverse or replenish or renew your skin.

17.              Exercise can reduce pain

Several studies show that exercise can regulate pain associated with various health conditions, including chronic back pain, fibromyalgia, and chronic soft tissue shoulder disorder, etc. physical exercises also increase pain tolerance and decrease pain perception.