Many people think about fitness, cardiovascular health, weight loss and muscle building as benefits of doing exercises. But there are much more a person can be benefited from exercise in many ways towards a good health. Here we are picking up eight health benefits of doing exercise for your information.
Quick look
Benefits of exercise:
Improve your Metabolic Syndrome
Prevent heart disease, diabetes
Maximize oxygen uptake capacity
Improve brain health
Slow down aging
Prevent stress and promote feel good
Help to burn fat and improve fitness
Sleep better
In Details:
Benefits of doing exercises:
Improve your Metabolic Syndrome:
Exercise and physical activeness improves Metabolic Syndrome i.e. obesity, cholesterol, high blood pressure (1) and blood sugar level. It also improves blood circulation along with maximizing oxygen intake capacity.
Prevent heart disease, diabetes:
A meta-analyses study in 2013 by researcher incorporating 305 randomized controlled trials with 339 274 participants, found that exercise and many drug interventions are often potentially similar in terms of their mortality benefits in the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease, rehabilitation after stroke, treatment of heart failure, and prevention of diabetes. (2)
In fact, rehabilitation after stroke, exercise gives better result than drugs in many cases. However you should take advice from your healthcare provider before set up an exercise plan. A good set of regular aerobic exercises reduce risk of heart attack and stroke and improves overall wellness.
Doing 150 min of moderate intensity exercise in a week on regular basis can help you to lower cardiovascular disease. (3)
Maximize oxygen uptake capacity:
Exercises specially aerobic exercise improves VO2 max or maximum oxygen uptake capacity. VO2 max is the maximum volume of oxygen consumed by the body each minute during exercise while breathing air at sea level. Higher the number indicates better cardiovascular system. (4)
Improve brain health:
In a study, it has been shown that exercise with higher oxygen consumption (aerobic) and physical activity which helps better brain oxygenation, in old age are associated with greater brain structural and functional integrity, and higher cognitive functioning. (5)
Researcher has discovered that regular endurance exercise like jogging, brisk walking stimulates the production of a protein called FNDC5 that is released into the bloodstream. Over time, FNDC5 stimulates the production of another protein in the brain called Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), which in turns stimulates the growth of new nerves and synapses (the connection points between nerves) and also preserves the survival of existing brain cells. Exercise also linked with help to patients experiencing cognitive decline, including those in the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s along with improved memory. (6)
Slow down aging:
Exercise can make you younger. With age there is a decline in mitochondrial bio-genesis and mitochondrial protein quality control in skeletal muscle. Mitochondrial bio-genesis is the process by which cells increase their individual mitochondrial mass and copy number to increase the production of ATP as a response to greater energy expenditure. Exercise can help to minimize age related deterioration of skeletal muscle by improving mitochondrial protein quality control and bio-genesis. (7)
Prevent stress and promote feel good:
A study revealed that Physical Exercise Prevents Stress-Induced Activation of Granule Neurons and Enhances Local Inhibitory Mechanisms in the Dentate Gyrus, helping to induce a state of calmness. (8)
In an another study of Penn State researchers found that People who are more active report greater levels of excitement and enthusiasm than people who are less physically active. People also are more likely to report feelings of excitement and enthusiasm on days when they are more physically active than usual. (9)
Help to burn fat and improve fitness:
Burning of fat to energy need oxygen. When exercise can burn fat to convert energy with presence of more oxygen, it helps to cut your extra weight at faster rate. Both exercise and diet plays a critical rule in controlling your weight. You can also read how does the human body produce energy to know better.
Short period HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is shown to be beneficial in greater number than hours of low/moderate intensity exercises. However HIIT needs recovery time and for that reason you should do HIIT on daily basis. We will discuss it in later in details.
Sleep better:
Exercise reduces stress and improves moods. Regular exercises helps to promote daytime alertness and improve sleep at night. It also helps people with sleep disorders including insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea to have better sleep. (10, 11)
Final Word:
I hope you are getting some information about benefits of doing exercise apart from cardiovascular health and muscle building. You may try 150 minutes in a week of moderate intensity exercise or 75 minutes in a week of vigorous exercise based on physical condition. Exercise along with proper diet and nutrition will boost your health and helps you to feel better and as well as keep you active. Combination of vigorous and moderate aerobic exercises, such as running, jogging, brisk walking or swimming can give better results-we will discuss it later in details. You can include strength training at least twice per week by lifting free weights, using weight machines or doing body weight exercises. Remember to consult with your health care provider before starting a new exercise program specially if you have any health problem, have physical inability, is pregnant or not doing any exercise for a long period.
Sources & reference: 1.http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HeartAttack/LifeAfteraHeartAttac k/Lifestyle-Changes-for-Heart-Attack-Prevention_UCM_303934_Article.jsp# 2. http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f5577#aff-1 3. https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/pa-health/index.htm 4. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0065382 5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26244873 6. https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2013/10/13/how-exercise-makes-your-brain-grow/#48361912d1f9 7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22573103 8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3865561/ 9. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-02/ps-pay020812.php 10. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2992829/ 11. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sleep-newzzz/201309/better-sleep-found-exercising-regular-basis-0
