From boosting your mood to enhancing your sexual life and everything in between, there are endless reasons to exercise and be physically active. But despite this, exercise is always the last activity on most people’s to-do list.
We live in a fast-paced world; everyone is always in a hurry to get something done. But in the pursuit to make ends meet, many people often overlook the importance of sparing a few minutes of their busy schedules to do some exercises. In this article, we shall highlight some of the reasons why you need to exercise and be physically active.
Pro tip: if you are the kind who understands the value of exercise, but have been procrastinating about it for months or even years, you may benefit more by joining a fitness club. Sometimes, it is easier to set things in motion when you hang around people who are doing what you love to do. Besides, fitness clubs have trainers and vast equipment to help your exercises. It will be only a matter of time before you become an exercise addict.
Here are the reasons to exercise.
Health
You’ve probably heard about these thousands of times. Exercise plays a crucial role in your health. It may help you control your weight, reduce your risk of heart disease, manage sugar and insulin levels, improve your mental health and mood, strengthen your muscles and bones, and quit smoking. Exercise will also enable you to uphold your learning, thinking and judgment skills as you age, reduce your risk of falls, lower your risk of some cancers, improve your chances of living longer, and improve your sexual health. Regular exercise has been shown to help people lower risk for diseases – and it can help you too.
Relaxation
Many people assume that exercising will make them more tired – but that’s not true. If anything, exercise has shown better results in helping people relax. Aerobic exercise, for instance, brings incredible changes to your body, your heart, metabolism and your spirits. It allows you to exhilarate and relax, providing stimulation and calm and helps you to dissipate stress and counter depression. Aerobics is a common experience among athletes and has been approved in clinical trials that have used exercise to address clinical depression and anxiety disorders successfully. If patients and endurance athletes can reap the benefits of exercises, why not you?
Improved sleep quality
Anxiety and stress are two significant causes of insomnia. And as you may have realized above, exercise helps you to relieve body tension that leads to stress. On top of that, it also depletes your energy, which in turn, stimulates recuperative processes while you sleep. Again, the increase in body temperature that happens during exercise is believed to enhance sleep quality by allowing it to drop as you sleep. A lot of studies on the impact of exercise on sleep support these outcomes. One study revealed that two-three hours of moderate to vigorous activity per week could offer up to 65% improvement in sleep quality.
It improves moods
If you need an emotional uplift – or you just want to remove some tension after a long day, then exercise can work the magic. Exercise stimulates a range of brain chemicals that may leave you less anxious, more relaxed and feeling happier. Regular exercise can even help you feel better about yourself and your appearance, which can boost your confidence and enhance your self-esteem.
Boosts energy
If you feel tired after running a few errands or completing your house chores, then exercise can boost your endurance and strengthen your muscles. Regular physical activity delivers nutrients and oxygen to your tissues and enables your cardiovascular system to function more efficiently. And when your lung and heart health improves, you’ll have more energy to execute your daily tasks.
Improve your sex life
It is not uncommon for people who don’t exercise to feel out of shape or too tired to indulge in sex. Regular exercise can boost energy levels and improve your confidence in how you look, which may enhance your sex life. Additionally, regular physical activity may trigger arousal for women. Some studies show that men who exercise regularly have lower chances of suffering from erectile dysfunction than those who don’t.