We all know that exercise is good for us. But it’s time we realized just how powerful it really is!
>> Immediate pay-offs Exercise boosts your energy. If you suffer from an afternoon slump, a few minutes of stretching or a brisk 10-minute walk will perk you up by getting more blood to your brain. You’ll even sleep better if you exercise. It helps you fall asleep faster and stay asleep. In one US study, people who walked or did low-impact aerobics for up to 40 minutes four times a week fell asleep twice as fast and slept an hour longer. Over the years, our periods of deep sleep—the most restful kind—tend to shorten. Exercise may be the only way to lengthen them again.
>> Exercise can make you calmer. People who exercise regularly don’t experience as much of a rise in blood pressure during stressful situations as couch Potatoes do. In another study, people who often exercised, experienced 37% fewer physical complaints during times of stress than those who were the least active.
It eases chronic pain and helps relieve menopausal hot flushes. Following an exercise program for even a few weeks, helps increase your self-esteem because you’ve set and met a goal. Moreover, exercise improves your overall mood, although how this works is not known.
>> You get a healthier heart. Almost any kind of physical activity, done consistently, can strengthen the heart and keep artery walls supple. Moderate exercise (that burns 1200- 1600 Calories a week) can improve your cholesterol profile by raising your level of HDL, the “good” cholesterol that helps prevent clogged arteries. Regular exercise may also prevent the oxidation of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, a process that encourages it to stick to artery walls.
Lifting weights turns out to be one of the best things that you can do for your heart. It lowers cholesterol levels, reduces blood pressure and improves your overall cardiovascular fitness. It also makes your glucose metabolism more efficient (lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes) and increases your muscle to fat ratio.
And extra muscle means a faster Inetabolism, since muscle burns far more calories than fat does—even when you’re sitting still.
>> Greater aerobic capacity. Regular aerobic exercise improves your cardiovascular endurance. It offsets the 1% decline in cardiovascular endurance that occurs each year after turning age 25. This capacity— known as your V02 max (maximum volume of oxygen)—typically increases by 6-20% with aerobic train- ing, but can climb by. as much as 50%. When your aerobic power improves, oxygen enters your lungs more rapidly and carbon dioxide leaves more quickly. The benefit? You’re less likely to get puffed.
>> Stronger bones. Your bones will grow denser with exercise, particularly with strength training and high- impact activities such as jogging. Women over 50 who do strength training twa or three days a week for one year typically increase their bone density by about 1%. Compare that with sedentary postmenopausal women, who usually experience a 2% bone loss each year, along with a higher risk of injuring themselves in falls.
>> Exercise can reduce cancer risk. If you exercise regularly, you stand a good chance of reducing your risk of colorectal cancer, as well a lung, breast and prostate or uterine cancers. In one clinical study, women who exercised moderately at 1 an hour a day cut their risk of colo rectal cancer by 18% compared with less active women. In another study
those who exercised for at least four hours a week were half as likely W develop breast cancer as those wh didn’t exercise at all.
>> Head-to-toe benefits. Exercise can prevent and manage arthritis and weight. Strong thigh muscles appear to protect you from developing arthritis in your knees. Doing moderate exercise at least four times a week reduces a woman’s chance of developing diabetes by half. and male or female, two to three hours of recreational exercise per week may lower your risk of developing gallstones by at least 20%.
It’s well established that moderate aerobic activity boosts immune system function. One study found that women who walked briskly for 45 minutes five days a week cut their sick days in half.
>> A longer life span. You don’t have to exercise every day to add years to your life. In a 17-year study, people who exercised moderately for 30 minutes six or more times a month outlived those who were sedentary by a 43% margin.
When it comes to longevity, staying physically fit may be even more important than maintaining a healthy body weight. Researchers have found that lean but sedentary men have shorter life expectancies than men who are overweight but otherwise fit.
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