21 Health Benefits of Exercise
We used to carry water, chop wood, hunt for game and till the soil.
Now we open the faucet, turn up the thermostat, buy groceries and go to the restaurant.
I'm confident most of us prefer the change yet we used to work our bodies hard when the sun was up and never had to go out of our way to get enough exercise.
Now we sit, read, write, talk, push buttons and turn dials.
If we don't go well out of our way to get plenty of exercise, we weaken and languish.
We know in our heads that exercise plays a crucial role in our well-being yet many of us don't act, from day to day, as if it were truly important.
Physical exercise brings the body into balance and is one of the most important aspects of our lifestyles, competing with what we eat, drink and breathe for top honors.
Still, only somewhere in the neighborhood of 37% of Americans exercise regularly and more than 72% are overweight.
So, just to clear the air and perhaps refresh our interest and appreciation for the subject, I've collected the following 21 widely recognized health benefits of exercise:
Now we open the faucet, turn up the thermostat, buy groceries and go to the restaurant.
I'm confident most of us prefer the change yet we used to work our bodies hard when the sun was up and never had to go out of our way to get enough exercise.
Now we sit, read, write, talk, push buttons and turn dials.
If we don't go well out of our way to get plenty of exercise, we weaken and languish.
We know in our heads that exercise plays a crucial role in our well-being yet many of us don't act, from day to day, as if it were truly important.
Physical exercise brings the body into balance and is one of the most important aspects of our lifestyles, competing with what we eat, drink and breathe for top honors.
Still, only somewhere in the neighborhood of 37% of Americans exercise regularly and more than 72% are overweight.
So, just to clear the air and perhaps refresh our interest and appreciation for the subject, I've collected the following 21 widely recognized health benefits of exercise:
- Helps you feel better, generally, with more oxygen going to your brain and more endorphins circulating and providing the now famous "natural high".
- Has helped institutionalized elderly people with Alzheimer's feel better, sleep more soundly and take fewer medications.
- Reduces or eliminates a multitude of physical ailments.
- Improves nearly all medical conditions in varying degrees.
- Strengthens your immune system and promotes detoxification.
- Helps keep your blood pressure within normal limits, helping your heart pump stronger and slower.
- Reduces your risk of heart disease.
- Strengthens your lungs and respiratory system.
- Lowers your cholesterol levels.
According to some health professionals, it does this more effectively than any other method known. - Reduces headaches.
- Increases your metabolism.
- Increases your libido.
- Improves digestion.
- Improves your concentration, memory, alertness, and creativity.
- Reduces stress and depression.
- Reduces the risk of bone loss.
- Promotes your overall health.
- Improves sleep.
There's also evidence that lack of sleep causes increased appetite and a preference for high-calorie, high-carbohydrate foods. - Can provide you with quiet or reflective time to meditate, stretch and relax, or enjoy the beauty of nature.
- Provides greater vitality, increased energy and longer life.
- Supports you in handling stress more calmly and resiliently.
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