The Benefits of Exercise

Are you regularly working out? If not, then what’s holding you back? There are countless reasons as to why exercise should be a part of your daily routine and research has proven how beneficial exercise is on the mind, the body, and just overall life in general. As a full discretion, it would be naïve for me to believe that the reason why people don’t exercise regularly is due to the fact that they don’t think that exercise is all that beneficial. I know that there are many reasons as to why it is difficult for people to exercise so my only hope is that this post serves as more motivation. With that said, my intention is to really help you get a better understanding as to how beneficial exercise truly is!

Exercise is so powerful in helping ease the mind by serving as a tool to cope with everyday life. Many individuals living with anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders have been able to successfully substitute their prescription medications with regular exercise. DISCLAIMER: If you are currently taking any prescription medications please consult with your prescriber before making any decisions or taking any actions to get off any prescription medications. Exercise has been proven to reduce stress, relieve anxiety, and also help boost self-esteem. The reasoning for this is that exercise helps regulate hormones like cortisol. Cortisol is the stress hormone that is released in the brain, which is induced by stress. Exercise also helps increase the production of dopamine and serotonin, which are neurotransmitters that help improve overall psychological functioning and well-being. Dopamine and serotonin are referred to as the “feel good” chemicals in the brain, which are released during exercise.

In addition to all of the benefits of exercise on the mind, the benefits of exercise on the body are a little more evident because we can actually see the physical improvements in our bodies. Exercise improves overall longevity and functionality by decreasing body fat percentage, increasing muscle mass, and improving mobility and flexibility. With that said, I’m a firm believer in the ‘if you don’t use, it you lose it’ mentality. Muscle helps protect bones and joints by serving as protection. Believe it or not, starting in our twenties muscle mass slowly starts to decline making it that much more important to exercise and build muscle. Muscle also helps regulate metabolism, which helps with weight management and/or potential weight loss. The reality of it is that looking good physically will help you feel good psychologically.

In addition to all the great things that exercise does for the mind and the body, exercise also helps by lowering the chances of preventative life threatening diseases like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Primarily this is due to a combination of improving cardiovascular functioning, lowering body fat percentage, and also by regulating hormones. Exercise also helps slow down the process of aging on a cellular level by strengthening our DNA. Recently there’s been an influx of research on telomeres, which are little caps found on the end of chromosomes that protect our DNA and in result help slow down the process for aging. That’s right, exercise slows down the aging process!

If you weren’t completely sold on the benefits of exercise, then hopefully this post serves you with a little more insight and motivation. If you’re as intrigued by telomeres as I am, I have included the link to the journal article below. As always, feel free to reach out with any questions, thoughts, and/or successes!

Journal Article: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743517301470

Stay healthy!

Via

#telomeres #viorela #mindbodyandlife #exerciseandlife #exerciseandhormones #exerciseandpsychology #preventionoflifethreateningdiseases #exerciseforantiaging #holistichealth #healthandwellnessblogger #healthandwellnessblog #physicalandpsychologicalhealth #biopsychosocial #physicalandmentalhealth #psychologicalwellbeing #mindbodylife #howtolivehealthy