Exercise Benefits On A Whole Body Level
The human body adapts itself to changing environments and the demands or lack of demands placed upon it, causing frequent activity to keep the body operating at a more functional level for longer. These adaptations are often the very same changes the sedentary individuals searching for miracle cures to their aesthetic woes crave.
Exercise has been shown time and again to reduce body fat, tone and strengthen muscles, tighten skin, and increase energy and function. The best of newly developed modern aesthetic products cannot even come close to claiming this much.
On top of this, exercise has been proven to make other notable changes. Even with individuals not following the new sedentary lifestyle, the changes in gene expression of every cell amount to an increasing rate of physical deterioration beginning in the 30s and accelerating as time passes (Finch).
Though these changes are to some degree an unavoidable part of life, adhering to an exercise plan aids in maintaining youthful muscle mass, stronger bones, and a more efficient cardiovascular system.
Ana Navarro and her colleagues observed this in their research, stating, “It is apparent that moderate exercise at middle age in mammals may increase life span, likely by… preventing the… age-associated decline of physiological functions” (R511). By adhering to a consistent exercise regimen, even beginning in middle age, youthful body function is regained and/or maintained, and ultimately lifespan is increased.
The Best Modern Aesthetic Products Cannot Even
Come Close To The Benefits Of Exercise.
Exercise Effects On Happiness
In addition to the substantial physical benefits of exercise, there are positive changes it induces elsewhere as well. Recent studies have shown what any fitness enthusiast takes for granted, but which may surprise less active individuals: exercise improves quality of life, and generates happiness.
After even a very brief session of exercise the brain releases hormones called endorphins, elevating mood and improving neural connections. Endorphins are opiate molecules produced by the pituitary glad which create a feeling of well-being similar to that of plant-based opiates (Ernst et al. 88).
In addition to this free and perfectly healthy high, exercise causes a number of other, more long term changes to occur within the brain and central nervous system. It has been shown in studies to increase mental performance, particularly in older individuals.
In their joint study “Fitness Effects on the Cognitive Function of Older Adults: A Meta-Analytical Study,” researchers of psychology at Beckman Institute, Stanley Colcombe, and Arthur Kramer examined the effects exercise had on the cognitive performance of sedentary elderly individuals.
They stated: “We examined whether aerobic fitness training can have a robust and beneficial influence on the cognition of sedentary older adults… the answer provided by the present analysis is an unequivocal yes” (Colcome and Kramer 128).
The two men compared performance on mental tasks of many individuals before and after implementing an aerobic exercise routine and found that “Fitness training increased [mental] performance… regardless of the type of cognitive task, the training method, or participants’ characteristics”(128).
This illustrates in real life exercise’s impact on the brain: the reduction of loss of brain cell mass associated with age, and the improvement of existing neural connections, amounting to a younger, faster brain.
After A Session Of Exercise The Brain Releases Endorphins,
Elevating Mood And Improving Neural Connections.
Exercise Effects On Stress
Aside from these alterations within the brain and body, exercise has a vast number of less tangible but equally important affects as well. Stress is said by many to accelerate aging and irritate many health conditions, and while exercise does not eliminate stress altogether, it provides a reliable outlet for venting frustrations and returning to a more calm and healthy mindset.
In addition to this, exercising regularly improves mood and promotes happiness. Kerry Stewart and his colleagues from the Department of Cardiology at Johns Hopkins University comment on this in their study “Are Fitness, Activity, and Fatness Associated With Health-related Quality of Life and Mood in Older Persons,” stating:
Among both genders, individuals with greater fitness and less fatness reported lower levels of anger, depression, and total mood disturbance, as well as less bodily pain, more vitality, fewer problems with daily physical activities resulting from health limitations, and fewer limitations of social activities resulting from emotional or health problems (119).
By serving as an outlet for stress, sharpening mental focus, releasing mind soothing endorphins, and providing individuals with goals to achieve and a routine to follow, exercise goes beyond producing positive physical changes in the body to improve quality of life and elevating mood.
This is also illustrated in the article “Long-Term Impact of Preventive Proactivity on Quality of Life of the Old-Old” by Eva Kahana and her colleagues in the field of Sociology and aging at several major universities, in which they state “physical exercise was associated with greater self-reported meaning in life… and goals in life” (Kahana, et al 391).
Clearly regular exercise goes above and beyond improving physical appearance, bodily function, and increasing lifespan. It also undeniably elevates mood and makes that increased lifespan more worth living.
Exercise Provides A Reliable Outlet For Venting Frustrations
And Returning To A Calm And Healthy Mindset.
Exercise And A Healthy Lifestyle
While regular physical activity is clearly the best way to achieve all these benefits of health and happiness, it is even more successful and enjoyable when implemented in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle. Exercise unmistakably makes the body function better at just about everything, but as it does this it also places greater demand on some areas.
Without the aid of a healthy lifestyle, exercise is more difficult, less enjoyable, and yields slower results. In this situation it is understandably much more likely to be discontinued, and studies have shown that beginning exercisers who avoid making lifestyle changes have a much lower rate of adherence and consistency to exercise routines than those who embrace healthier alternatives to their habits (Bryant and Green 374). Therefore, in order to fully reap the many benefits of exercise, a healthy lifestyle is essential.
