10 ways exercise makes your life better

Full length of mid adult man exercising on hardwood floor in domestic room. Side view of male is sitting at home. He is in sports clothing. [File, Standard]

1.       Exercising boosts your immune system. Working out helps flush out bacteria from your lungs and airways making you less prone to cold, flu or other illnesses. It also changes your white blood cells (disease fighting cells) making them more effective in combating diseases.

2.       The more muscle you have, the greater fat burning capacity you have, even at rest. This is basically because it takes more energy to sustain muscle tissue than body fat.

3.       Exercise combats signs of aging. Aging in your muscle begins at age 35 when your body begins losing muscle mass. This encourages increased fat storage (about 1 per cent annually). Fitness also reduces inflammation in the body that comes with aging. Increased inflammation leads to diseases like depression, mental problems, joint problems and cardiovascular problems.

4.       Exercise promotes the health of your skin, reducing acne and breakouts. Working out causes increased blood flow to your skin cells bringing on the youthful glow. The increased blood flow also means that the cells receive more nutrients and oxygen.

5.       Exercise helps you sleep better and has been shown to reduce insomnia. Working out reduces stress and anxiety, making catching a snooze so much easier. It also strengthens your circadian rhythm making you more alert during the day and increased sleepiness later in the night. It also improves the quality of sleep.

6.       Want to stay sharp and keep your brain in tip top condition even as you age? Then it is time to fit in some form of exercise in your life. Exercise has been shown to reduce inflammation in brain cells, boost the size of the hippocampus thus improving memory and learning. It also staves away dementia.

7.       Exercise has been shown to cure mild to moderate depression. A study done at the Cooper Institute in Colorado showed that working out vigorously three to five days a week improved a person’s disposition immensely.

8.       Walking is just as good as running. While you may have to walk a longer distance to get quite the same amount of benefits as running, it has been proved to lower the risk of heart disease just the same.

9.       Exercise will enhance your sex life. Working out increases release of endorphins. This increases sexual arousal and orgasms for the women. It also increases the sex drive in men. However medical experts warn that too much exercise can have the opposite effect.

10.   Don’t work out on an empty stomach, rather eat light. Have a low calorie healthy snack before getting into it because once your body runs out of energy, you begin using up the protein from the muscle tissue.