Exercise is defined as any movement that makes your muscles work and requires your body to burn calories.
There are many types of physical activity, including swimming, running, jogging, walking, and dancing, to name a few.
Being active has been shown to have many health benefits, both physically and mentally. It may even help you live longer.
Here are the top 10 ways regular exercise benefits your body and brain.
1. Exercise Boosts Brain Power
Research is finding that as we age, exercise may be able to help keep our brains healthy. Three studies presented at the 2015 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference showed that regular exercise may play an important role in protecting your brain from Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, and may help improve brain function and symptoms such as depression or anxiety in those who have these conditions.
And research published in November 2017 in the journal NeuroImage showed that aerobic exercise may be helpful in improving memory function and maintaining brain health as we age. The study, led by researchers at Australia's National Institute of Complementary Medicine at Western Sydney University, looked at brain scans of 737 people ranging in ages from 26 to 76. The group included a mix of healthy adults, people with Alzheimer's and other cognitive impairments, and people with a clinical diagnosis of mental illness, including depression and schizophrenia. The researchers found that exercises, like riding a stationary bike, running on a treadmill, or walking, slowed down the deterioration of brain size and slowed the effect of age on brain health.
Science is also showing that even short bursts of exercise can have a significant impact on your brain function in the short term. A study published in January 2018 in the journal Neuropsychologia found that when participants cycled for 10 minutes (either moderately or vigorously) on a stationary bike, their measured reaction times to a cognitively demanding task were significantly more accurate and faster than when they did the task after not doing any physical activity, meaning their attention was sharper.
So the next time you’re about to do something that’ll require some focus, like taking a test or giving a presentation, you might want to do some jumping jacks to get your blood flowing first.
2. Exercise can make you feel happier
Exercise can exercise has been shown to improve your mood and decrease feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress.
It produces changes in the parts of the brain that regulate stress and anxiety. It can also increase brain sensitivity to the hormones serotonin and norepinephrine, which relieve feelings of depression.
Additionally, exercise can increase the production of endorphins, which are known to help produce positive feelings and reduce the perception of pain.
Interestingly, it doesn’t matter how intense your workout is. It seems that exercise can benefit your mood no matter the intensity of physical activity.
In fact, in a study of 24 women diagnosed with depression, exercise of any intensity significantly decreased feelings of depression.
The effects of exercise on mood are so powerful that choosing to exercise (or not) even makes a difference over short periods of time.
One review of 19 studies found that active people who stopped exercising regularly experienced significant increases in symptoms of depression and anxiety, even after only a few weeks. ake you feel happier.
3. Exercise is good for your muscles and bones
As people enter their forties and fifties, muscle mass starts to decline because of aging and, in some cases, decreased activity levels. Muscular atrophy can also occur because of health conditions, such as joint pain. As we age, it’s important to increase or maintain muscle mass through strength training, not only because it helps burn calories, but also because muscle mass is essential for strength and balance.
4. Exercise can increase your energy levels
Exercise can be a real energy booster for many people, including those with various medical conditions.
One older study found that 6 weeks of regular exercise reduced feelings of fatigue for 36 people who had reported persistent fatigue.
Exercise can also significantly increase energy levels for people with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and other health conditions.
In fact, exercise seems to be more effective at combating CFS than other treatments, including passive therapies like relaxation and stretching or no treatment at all.
And let’s not forget the fantastic heart and lung health benefits of exercise. Aerobic exercise boosts the cardiovascular system and improves lung health, which can significantly help with energy levels.
As you move more, your heart pumps more blood, delivering more oxygen to your working muscles. With regular exercise, your heart becomes more efficient and adept at moving oxygen into your blood, making your muscles more efficient.
Over time, this aerobic training results in less demand on your lungs, and it requires less energy to perform the same activities — one of the reasons you’re less likely to get short of breath during vigorous activity.
Additionally, exercise has been shown to increase energy levels in people with other conditions, such as cancer.
5. Exercise Reduces Cancer Risk
“Inactivity is associated with increased risk for a number of cancers, including colon and breast cancer,” McCleary says. “Exercise has been linked with a decreased risk of developing cancer, death from cancer, and recurrence of certain cancers.” The suggested mechanisms at play include exercise’s beneficial effects on the immune and surveillance systems that detect and kill cancer cells, improved cardio-respiratory status, improved hormonal profiles, weight maintenance, and other beneficial metabolic effects, he says.
6. Our Skin Looks Better When We Exercise
Your skin can be affected by the amount of oxidative stress in your body.
Oxidative stress occurs when the body’s antioxidant defenses cannot completely repair the cell damage caused by compounds known as free radicals. This can damage the structure of the cells and negatively impact your skin.
Even though intense and exhaustive physical activity can contribute to oxidative damage, regular moderate exercise can actually increase your body’s production of natural antioxidants, which help protect cells.
In the same way, exercise can stimulate blood flow and induce skin cell adaptations that can help delay the appearance of skin aging.
7. Exercise can help with relaxation and sleep quality
Regular exercise can help you relax and sleep better.
With regard to sleep quality, the energy depletion (loss) that occurs during exercise stimulates restorative processes during sleep.
Moreover, the increase in body temperature that occurs during exercise is thought to improve sleep quality by helping body temperature drop during sleep.
Many studies on the effects of exercise on sleep have reached similar conclusions.
One review of six studies found that participating in an exercise training program helped improve self-reported sleep quality and reduced sleep latency, which is the amount of time it takes to fall asleep.
One study conducted over 4 months found that both stretching and resistance exercise led to improvements in sleep for people with chronic insomnia.
Getting back to sleep after waking, sleep duration, and sleep quality improved after both stretching and resistance exercise. Anxiety was also reduced in the stretching group.
What’s more, engaging in regular exercise seems to benefit older adults, who are often affected by sleep disorders.
You can be flexible with the kind of exercise you choose. It appears that either aerobic exercise alone or aerobic exercise combined with resistance training can both improve sleep quality.
8. Exercise can reduce pain
Although chronic pain can be debilitating, exercise can actually help reduce it.
In fact, for many years, the recommendation for treating chronic pain was rest and inactivity. However, recent studies show that exercise helps relieve chronic pain.
In fact, one review of several studies found that exercise can help those with chronic pain reduce their pain and improve their quality of life.
Several studies also show that exercise can help control pain associated with various health conditions, including chronic low back pain, fibromyalgia, and chronic soft tissue shoulder disorder, to name a few.
Additionally, physical activity can also raise pain tolerance and decrease pain perception.
9. Exercise can promote a better sex life
Regular exercise can also boost your sex life. “When a person is aroused, blood flow rushes to the genitals,” says Stacy Berman, ACE, owner, and founder of Stacy’s Bootcamp in New York City. “The better the circulation, the less likely one is to suffer from sexual dysfunction.”
Working out can also improve mood and boost confidence and self-esteem, all of which improve sex for you and your partner.
10. Regular Exercise Makes for Better Digestion
Although constipation can have a variety of causes, a lack of exercise can be a major contributing factor. “Exercise can help,” Dr. McCleary says. “It also enhances many factors that are indirectly beneficial, such as increased hydration and better dietary intake.”
Exercise increases blood flow and is beneficial for every system in the body, says Berger. Whether it’s cardiovascular health, cognitive function or mood, the benefits of exercise are numerous and varied. So get up and get moving — your mind, body, and spirit will reap the rewards in the short term and for years to come.