5 Mind-Blowing Ways Exercise Can Change Your Life

Many of us make New Year resolutions to exercise more, as we know that would make us healthier and live longer. However, do you know that exercise can help you feel happier, and more hopeful, connected with others, and confident?

Those who are physically active are happier, more satisfied with their lives, and feel more connected to their communities than sedentary ones. That's true for people of all ages and across the globe, including those living with serious mental and physical health challenges.

Why does moving our body have such a positive effect on the brain? There are several reasons, one of which is how physical activity affects the brain. Read on to find out.

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Why You Should Exercise Regularly

Here are five ways how being active impacts mental health and how you can harness these benefits:

1) Promotes Happy Hormones

Exercise can help decrease feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress. Workout changes parts of the brain that regulate stress and anxiety. It increases brain sensitivity to the hormones serotonin and norepinephrine, which are responsible for relieving feelings of depression.

Exercise also increases the production of endorphins, which make you feel good and help reduce pain.

It doesn't matter how hard you work out — exercise seems to boost mood no matter how much you sweat. The mood-boosting effects of exercise can be so powerful that just a few minutes of workout can make a difference in your mood, even if you don't regularly work out.

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2) Aids in Weight Loss

When we don't exercise, the body stores more of the food we eat as fat. If you want to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume. Exercise is one way to do that. The body uses energy in three ways: digesting food, exercising, and maintaining body functions like heartbeat and breathing.

When you diet, the body burns fewer calories than normal. That's because when you take in fewer calories than the body needs, it goes into a state called metabolic slowdown to conserve energy.

Exercise helps you stay active and burn more calories overall. Resistant exercise also helps you maintain muscle mass and burn fat better than cardio alone.

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3) Keeps Bones Healthy

Exercising regularly can help build strong muscles and bones. Weightlifting, for example, can stimulate muscle growth when paired with a diet that includes enough protein.

That's because exercise helps release hormones that boost the muscles’ ability to absorb amino acids, which builds them up and reduces their breakdown.

Workout is a great way to build bone density and lessen the risk of osteoporosis when you’re younger, as well as help prevent it later on.

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4) Boosts Energy Level

A great workout can leave your body feeling energetic and ready to tackle any task. It's a great way to keep the heart and lungs in good shape.

With regular activity, the heart becomes stronger and more efficient in pumping blood to the muscles. Daily movement also improve lung health, which can help you breathe easier and feel fresher.

Through aerobic workout, the lungs become accustomed to processing larger quantities of oxygen. Over time, that leads to reduced demand on the lungs, which means you won’t get out of breath as easily during vigorous activity. Exercise also has been shown to increase energy levels in people with other conditions, such as cancer.

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5) Improves Brain Health and Memory

Exercise can keep the brain healthy and make it easier for you to think. Workout increases the flow of blood and oxygen to your brain, which can help protect your memory and thinking skills as you get older. It also stimulates the production of hormones that enhance the growth of new brain cells.

As people age, they need more movement. The brain changes with age and grows smaller, which can lower mental ability. Activity can help you keep your brain healthy as you get older. It might also help prevent things like Alzheimer’s disease that affect the brain.

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Takeaway

With so many benefits, it’s not surprising that workout is an important part of preventing and treating a multitude of health problems.

Including exercise as a regular habit can help improve almost every aspect of health and well-being. It’s easy to see why there's so much interest in exercise, as more and more people want to feel better, live longer, and improve their overall quality of life.