Exercise: The Top 10 Benefits of Regular Physical Activity

Physical activity is about more than just flexing your muscles.
Strength training at the gym, a brisk walk around the neighborhood, or a high-intensity aerobic workout in your living room positively benefits the rest of your day.

However, even if you are aware that exercise is beneficial to your health, it may be challenging to incorporate it into your daily routine. Working too much and taking care of family can get in the way.
Whether you need an extra burst of encouragement to keep up your existing routine or a nudge to get you started, learning about the endless exercise benefits is a great motivator. Here are 12 benefits of regular exercise and how to start building a sustainable routine.

12 benefits of regular exercise

Regular exercise can make both your body and your mind healthier, from improving your mood to aiding heart and lung health. Let’s dive into 12 reasons to get regular physical activity, with scientific data to back each of them up.

1. Puts you in a good mood

Whether you need a kickstart to your morning after waking up early or an activity to manage stress after a challenging workday, exercise can clear your mind and improve your mood, according to one review. Aerobic exercise and resistance training both stimulate the production of enkephalins, dynorphins, and endorphins, also known as happy hormones.
The review found that these chemicals are involved in different cognitive and behavioral processes and can improve executive function, enhance your mood, and bring down your stress levels. And even better news is that a small amount of exercise can bring you these effects. You can ride the wave of happy hormones with just a 30-minute routine.

2. Improves your mental health

Consistent exercise contributes to neuroplasticity by making your brain more sensitive to serotonin. You’ll become more resilient to stress over time, which can help you manage mental health issues like depression and anxiety. Exercising regularly is a proactive approach to mental fitness, as neuroplasticity creates more resistance to the stressors that can stimulate bouts of anxiety and sadness.
From a psychological perspective, physical activity is a potential treatment for mental illness that should be investigated in conjunction with therapy with a mental health professional for issues that are ongoing. Exercise is such an effective form of treatment that some patients even experience withdrawal symptoms after dropping their exercise routines.

3. Builds muscle mass

In healthy adults, muscle mass makes up roughly 40% of total body weight. Muscles not only store nutrients and regulate your metabolism, but they are also essential to maintaining posture, breathing, and movement. Your peak muscle mass begins to naturally decline at age 25, and by the time you’re 80 years old, you’ll have lost 30% of it, which means its benefits wane too.

Muscle loss relates closely to bone loss. Lower bone strength and muscle weakness can make it harder to move, make it harder to balance, and make you more likely to get osteoporosis and break bones as you get older. Because bones take longer to heal as you age, falls and broken bones in older adults can significantly lower quality of life. Regular physical activity builds bone density and strengthens muscles, which lessens the natural stresses of aging on your muscles. In other words: exercise aids your body’s longevity.

4. Boosts your energy

If you slug through your workday and feel tired all the time, it may not be because you need to top off your coffee. Approximately 20% of adults experience persistent fatigue because of a sedentary lifestyle — and caffeine or a nap can’t fix those bad habits.
At least 20 minutes of low-to-moderate exercise can increase your energy levels. And if you keep up a regular routine, you’re likely to feel long-term effects on your energy throughout the day and throughout your life.
That’s because when you exercise, your body produces more mitochondria inside your muscle cells, which turn food and oxygen into fuel. The more of them you have in your body, the higher your energy reserves and better your ability to ration energy efficiently.

5. Increases lung capacity

Whether engaging in high-intensity exercise or taking a calm walk through the park, your lungs are in action. Your lungs engage in two important ways: they pull oxygen into the body to provide energy and push out the carbon dioxide waste you create during energy production.
Your body must process more oxygen and carbon dioxide the harder you work out. This indicates that regular exercise increases your breathing reserves, allowing your body to more effectively incorporate oxygen into your bloodstream. Even if you live with lung disease, it’s important to get regular exercise to strengthen your lungs and alleviate some of its effects. Always consult your doctor or a physical therapist to find types of exercises that you can incorporate into your daily living without harming your lungs.

6. Improves heart health

You can use exercise as both a preventable measure and therapeutic treatment for cardiovascular diseases — the leading causes of mortality globally.
Similar to the effects of exercise on the lungs, physical activity requires your heart to adapt and strengthen to increase oxygen and blood flow. Your heart will change over time to help control high blood pressure, reduce blood vessel inflammation, and slow down at rest. And regular exercise can increase your production of healthy cholesterol.
The combined benefits of regular exercise reduce stress on the heart and improve cardiovascular functions, both for healthy people and those living with heart disease.

7. Strengthens memory

If you struggle to manage your time or remember important meetings, exercise may help sharpen your memory.
The hippocampus is the part of the brain that controls learning and memory, and acute and regular exercise stimulates blood flow to the brain and increases the volume of the hippocampus. Adults with a history of higher fitness tend to have hippocampal lobes with higher volumes than non-fit adults, which can delay the natural shrinking of the brain and accompanying memory loss.
Studies also show that exercise can help with memory function in adults at risk of, or already experiencing, declining brain health. Long-term exercise intervention programs improve cognitive function and lessen symptoms in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. If you’re worried about your aging brain, exercise is one way to help it stay healthy.

8. Controls diabetes

While you can’t control your genetic disposition, exercise can prevent or regulate Type 2 diabetes. Physical activity, when you combine it with modest weight loss, lowers the prospect of Type 2 diabetes by up to 58% in high-risk patients.
Resistance training and aerobic exercise can make your body more sensitive to insulin, which is produced by the cells that convert blood sugar into energy. This helps regulate the disease. But the effects of energy on insulin sensitivity also depend on external factors unique to your body and lifestyle. If you do have diabetes or are at risk, always consult with a doctor to create the right plan for your needs.

9. lowers the likelihood of cancer

According to the American Cancer Society, physical activity can help you manage a healthy weight for your body, which regulates cancer-causing hormones and maintains a healthy immune system. Research has found that physical activity has the potential to lower the risk of several cancers, including:
Breast cancer
Uterine cancer Colon cancer
Endometrial cancer
Cancer of the pancreas Likewise, the American Cancer Society estimates that unhealthy body weight and obesity are responsible for 14–20% of cancer deaths in the US. Healthy weights and active lifestyles have been linked to better treatment response and survival outcomes, lower risk of recurrent cancer, and decreased chances of developing new cancer.

10. focuses on your skin

The trick to healthy, glowing skin isn’t just about your skincare routine. Your fitness also plays a role. Exercise coupled with other good habits like mindful eating and proper sleep hygiene can help delay your skin’s natural aging process.
Exercise improves your skin’s ability to retain moisture, preventing future dermal problems and keeping your skin well-hydrated. It also increases blood flow even when you aren’t engaged in vigorous activity, which nourishes your cells and removes toxins.
Plus, regular exercise aids stress levels and helps you manage your sleep quality, decreasing the likelihood of conditions like acne, eczema, or psoriasis.

11. Regulates your sleep quality

Exercise helps you fall asleep faster and improves quality by increasing slow-wave sleep. This type of deep sleep plays a vital role in your growth, memory, and immune function and is key to helping you wake yourself up feeling energized. And when you have a good sleep schedule, you’re more likely to be in a better mood, stay concentrated, and perform better at work.