Exercise is any type of physical activity that makes your muscles work, and burns extra calories over your body. There are many different types of physical exercises – swimming, different types of running, walking, dancing, etc.
What is good sports? Physical activity has been shown to be useful not only for physical health but also for the psychological state. It is believed to even prolong life.
Here are ten ways that regular exercise has a positive effect on your body.
1. It can help you feel happier
Regular exercise has been shown to help improve moods and reduce feelings of depression, anxiety and stress. During exercise, he exercises on the brain areas responsible for the appearance of feelings of anxiety and tension. The brain’s sensitivity to serotonin and norepinephrine, which relieves depression, is also increasing.
During exercise, the production of endorphins is also stimulated, which stimulates positive emotions and reduces the susceptibility to pain. In addition, exercise has been shown to reduce anxiety symptoms. It also helps people realize their fear and fight them. An interesting fact is that the intensity of physical activity does not matter. A positive effect on your mood depends on the level of exercise intensity.
A study among 24 women with depression found that exercise of any intensity suppressed feelings of depression. The effect of exercise on your mood is so strong that after a very short time you can stop exercising regularly. In one study, a survey was conducted among 26 healthy men and women who regularly attended workouts. They were asked to continue with regular exercise, or to stop it for about 2 weeks. Those who stopped the classes noticed more episodes of bad mood during the study period.
2. Exercise can help you lose weight
Many studies confirm that inactivity is one of the most important factors in the development of obesity. To understand how physical exercise contributes to weight loss, you need to identify the relationship between physical activity and energy consumption.
Our body devotes energy to three main processes: digestion of food, ensuring physical activity and maintaining important body functions, such as heart rate and breathing. If you follow a diet, reducing the number of calories in foods will lead to a slowdown in metabolism, which in turn slows down the loss of excess weight. On the contrary, regular exercise helps to activate the metabolism, which helps to “burn” extra calories and reduce weight.
Studies have also shown that a combination of aerobics and strength training can maximize the amount of fat burned and maintain adequate muscle mass, which is very important to maintain normal weight.
3. Good for muscles and bones
Regular exercise is essential for building and maintaining strong muscles and bones. Strength training is especially effective when combined with enough protein. This is due to the fact that during exercise hormones are released which increase the intake of amino acids through the muscles.
It helps to build muscle and increase muscle age. In the process of aging, people gradually lose muscle mass and strength, which can lead to pathological fractures and disabilities. Regular exercise is important to prevent muscle loss and maintain muscle strength in the fight against age-related changes.
Exercise contributes to the formation of denser and stronger bones in young people. They also prevent osteoporosis at an older age. An interesting fact is that sports such as gymnastics, running, soccer, basketball offer the formation of bones of higher density than when swimming or cycling.
4. Increase the energy supply in the body
Exercise is a powerful energy stimulator for healthy people as well as those suffering from various diseases. One study found that regular exercise for 6 weeks reduced fatigue in 36 previously registered people. In addition, exercise can increase energy stores in people with chronic fatigue syndrome and other serious illnesses. In fact, in the fight against chronic fatigue, physical exercise is even more effective than other forms of treatment, including passive “types of therapy, relaxation, stretching or no treatment at all. Regular exercise has also been shown to increase energy supplies in the body. people suffering from progressive chronic diseases such as cancer, HIV / AIDS and multiple sclerosis.
5. Reduces the risk of chronic diseases
One of the main reasons for the development of a chronic disease is a lack of physical activity. Regular exercise has been shown to increase tissue sensitivity to insulin, increase cardiovascular stamina and increase the body’s overall stamina. It also helps to lower and stabilize blood pressure and cholesterol.
In contrast, lack of physical activity – even for a short period – can contribute to significant fat accumulation in the abdomen, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and early death. Therefore, daily physical activity is recommended to combat body fat and reduce the risk of diabetes.
6. Exercise improves skin condition
Oxidative stress in your body can adversely affect your skin. Oxidative stress occurs when the body’s antioxidant system cannot repair the damage that free radicals do to cells.
This can damage intracellular structures and worsen the condition of your skin. Although many intense and debilitating exercises can exacerbate oxidative stress, regular moderate exercise can help your body produce natural antioxidants that protect your cells. Similarly, exercise stimulates blood flow to the skin and prevents age-related changes.
7. Improves memory and other brain functions
Exercise helps stimulate the brain and preserves memory and thought processes. Initially, exercise helps increase heart rate, and at the same time, improves the flow of blood (and with it oxygen) to the brain. Exercise also stimulates the production of hormones that promote nerve cell growth.
In addition, the ability to exercise regularly to prevent chronic diseases also has a positive effect on the brain, since diseases can have a negative effect on it. Regular exercise is especially important for older people, because aging combined with oxidative stress and inflammation contribute to pathological changes in the structure and function of the brain.
Exercise has been shown to increase the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning. This helps to improve the spiritual activity of older people. It has also recently been shown that regular exercise reduces pathological changes in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia.
8. Helps to Relax and Improve Sleep
Regular exercise will help you relax better and improve sleep. In terms of improving sleep quality, the depletion of the body’s energy reserves during exercise helps to stimulate recovery processes during sleep. It is also believed that increasing body temperature during exercise improves sleep due to its stabilization in sleep. Many studies of the effects of exercise on sleep quality have yielded similar results.
One study showed that 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week help improve sleep quality by 65%. Another study showed that regular exercise over 16 weeks improved the quality of sleep in 17 people with insomnia, which allowed them to sleep longer and quieter than in the control group.
It also made them feel more alert throughout the day. In addition, regular exercise has a significant positive effect on the quality of sleep in older people who are known to suffer from sleep disorders. You can choose the type of exercise very freely. Both aerobics and aerobics combined with strength training also have a positive effect on sleep quality.
9. Reduces Pain
Chronic pain is sometimes unbearable, but exercise can help to cope with it. Recommendations for reducing chronic pain rested for years and included a decrease in physical activity. However, recent studies have shown that exercise is an effective way to deal with chronic pain.
A review of several studies showed that the quality of life of study participants improved and pain with regular exercise decreased. Several studies have shown that regular exercise helps control pain associated with various diseases, such as chronic back pain, fibromyalgia (ligament pain), chronic soft tissue pain in the shoulder, etc. In addition, exercise can reduce perception. pain and increase tolerance to it.
Bottom line
Exercise has a positive effect on the body on almost all systems. Regular exercise can stimulate the production of hormones that make you happier and improve sleep. Exercise can also improve skin condition, help fight weight and reduce the risk of chronic