Children of the ‘80s have to thank Olivia Newton-John. She taught the whole world how to get physical and let her hear your body talk. Exercise in any form can be a great stress-buster. Exercise can help do wonders for the body. The World Health Organization says that lack of physical activity is the leading cause of chronic diseases. Now, we can also include stress, anxiety and potentially harmful mental conditions to the mix. Virtually all forms of exercise from simple walking, yoga to crossfit training have a value to relieve the body from stress. A little exercise can go a long way towards having a stress-free and happier life.
Why worry about stress?
Stress is a natural thing that happens in our body. It is beneficial until it becomes too much. Stress is in our DNA and we don’t have the ability to turn it off and on. It is the body’s natural reaction to a fight-or-flee response. Continued stress or presence of stress hormones in the body causes health problems. Some chronic diseases are caused by stress such as hypertension, diabetes and even problems with the immune system. Stress causes the body to be inflamed and thus create health problems. This is the reason why lack of exercise can impact the health. Exercise can help prevent stress and thus lower the risks of developing chronic health problems.
How important is exercise?
The benefits of exercise include the improvement of the physical and mental conditions of a person. Recent studies show that exercise can also improve mental condition as it can bust stress and anxiety. A sedentary lifestyle causes obesity, which recently was declared a full-fledged disease by the American Medical Association. Chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, liver problems such as fatty liver disease, renal disease, atherosclerosis and strokes can be attributed to lack of exercise. In fact, the lack of exercise ranks second only to smoking if not tied as the leading source of preventable diseases. A report that was published in the Lancet showed a grim picture about 1.3 million people dying worldwide each year caused by the lack of exercise. The harrowing fact is that despite the health consequences of lack of exercise it is not getting much attention in health circles and is not getting enough funding from government.
How can exercise help the mind?
Exercise enhances mental cognition and even helps in preserving neurons as well as the effective flow of neurotransmitters in the nervous system. Exercise improves one’s focus and counters fatigue by improving alertness and stamina. This is very important since most of the time stress can severely deplete the energy thus lowering a person’s ability to maintain focus and concentration. Current health guidelines say that 150 minutes of moderate exercise is enough. That would roughly translate to half an hour of moderate exercise five times a week. When stress impacts the brain, the nerve connections affect the rest of the body. So, it will not only make the body feel better but it will also have positive effects on a person’s mood. Calmness sets in after a brief 20 minute walk based on brain scans.
Why exercise can do wonders?
A brief five-minute walk can do wonders to the body against stress. When a person does some exercise the body releases endorphins. Endorphins are natural painkillers that can help release other feel-good chemicals in the body like serotonin and dopamine. Feel-good chemicals help melt the stress hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine.
Why is exercise important to sleep?
Exercise promotes a general well-being as such can also improve sleep. Sleep is an essential factor in controlling anxiety. Anxious people can’t sleep. As such lack of sleep makes anxiety worse. Exercise can help by making the body feel calmer and relaxed. As a result it can induce sleep as well as improve the quality and duration.
There is no such thing as little exercise. Any kind of activity can do wonders for the body. Spending 20 minutes of your time per day will help you to become calmer and live longer. Exercise is the cheapest medicine around. Most of the health problems in the world are traced back to physical inactivity. And, you can’t blame a busy schedule since you can do pocket sessions of exercise that could add up to at least 30 minutes per day.
About the Author:
Ryan Rivera is a lover of healthy lifestyle choices. He always shares his doable tips and tricks about healthy living to his readers with the hope of helping them live an anxiety-free life. You can also visit Ryan Rivera’s Calm Clinic Facebook account for more interesting information about health.
Comments
Post a Comment