We all know that exercise is good for us, but beyond the fact that it makes us look and feel better, what exactly does it affect? From your health to mood to preventing disease – here are just a few good and important reasons to make time for daily physical activity.
Combats Weight and Makes Us Feel Great
When you maintain a daily active lifestyle, it’s a key factor in the maintenance of a healthy weight. With all of those endorphins running through your body when you exercise, your brain triggers those “feel good” vibes that boost self-confidence and positivity.
Improve Balance and Coordination
Exercise doesn’t necessarily mean that each day you need to involve high-intensity workouts at the gym. The key is to find more moments throughout your day to move your body, whether it’s taking a brisk walk around the park during your lunch break or taking the stairs instead of the escalator. Stretch before bedtime, attend yoga class, play street hockey with the grandkids, go golfing with colleagues, or go swimming. Just move! When you do, you’re helping to strengthen your bones, joints, muscles, and connective tissue. This is especially crucial as we begin to age, since exercising can help reduce inflammation and pain and give us that boost that allows us to carry out our daily activities with ease.
Improve Cognitive Function and Mood
Aside from daily physical activity helping to improve our mood and coordination, it also helps to boost our brainpower and cognitive functions. Being active helps enhance and sharpen our thinking, learning, and judgement skills as we age.
Reduce the Risk of Disease
Incorporating exercise as a part of your regular routine has been proven to combat the onset of various diseases and ailments, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and even lower the risk of some cancers. In addition, regular exercise helps to lower blood pressure, improve circulation, and lower cholesterol levels.
If you’re not getting enough exercise throughout each day, it’s time to make it a priority. Try to begin by committing to 30 days of walking more, taking the stairs, or incorporating simple ways to boost up your level of physical movement throughout each day. By setting this timeframe, it can help you get started, and develop it as a part of your regular routine thereafter. Gradually start to incorporate more intense activities and workouts to keep your body and mind sharp so you can enjoy life to its fullest.
