Want to feel better, have more energy, and even add years to your life? The answer is surprisingly simple: just exercise.
The health benefits of regular physical activity are hard to ignore, according to leading health experts. Regardless of your age, sex, or physical ability, everyone benefits from getting moving.
From boosting your mood and improving your sex life to combating chronic disease and promoting better sleep, here are seven science-backed ways that regular exercise can lead to a happier, healthier you.
1. Exercise Controls Weight
Physical activity helps prevent excess weight gain and helps maintain lost weight. When you engage in physical activity, you burn calories – and the more intense the activity, the more calories you burn.
While regular trips to the gym are beneficial, experts say any amount of activity is better than none. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator, revving up household chores, or simply getting more active throughout your day all count. Consistency, not intensity alone, is the key.
2. Exercise Combats Health Conditions and Diseases
Regular physical activity boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol – the “good” cholesterol – while decreasing unhealthy triglycerides. This one-two punch keeps blood flowing smoothly, reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
According to health experts, regular exercise helps prevent or manage a wide range of conditions, including:
- Stroke and metabolic syndrome
- High blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes
- Depression and anxiety
- Many types of cancer
- Arthritis and falls
Exercise also improves cognitive function and lowers the risk of death from all causes.
3. Exercise Improves Mood
Need an emotional lift or a way to lower stress after a demanding day? A gym session or even a brisk walk can help. Physical activity stimulates brain chemicals that leave you feeling happier, more relaxed, and less anxious.
Regular exercise also improves self-esteem and confidence, as people often feel better about their appearance and themselves when they maintain an active lifestyle.
4. Exercise Boosts Energy
Feeling winded by grocery shopping or household chores? Regular physical activity improves muscle strength and boosts endurance. Exercise delivers oxygen and nutrients to tissues while helping the cardiovascular system work more efficiently. As heart and lung health improve, daily tasks require less effort and more energy becomes available.
5. Exercise Promotes Better Sleep
For those struggling to snooze, regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster, achieve deeper sleep, and improve overall sleep quality. Health experts note one caveat: avoid exercising too close to bedtime, as you may be too energized to fall asleep.
6. Exercise Puts the Spark Back Into Your Sex Life
Feeling too tired or out of shape to enjoy physical intimacy? Regular exercise improves energy levels and boosts confidence in physical appearance, which can enhance your sex life.
Beyond that, research shows regular physical activity may enhance arousal for women. Men who exercise regularly are less likely to experience erectile dysfunction than those who do not.
7. Exercise Can Be Fun – and Social
Exercise and physical activity offer opportunities to unwind, enjoy the outdoors, and connect with family or friends in social settings. Whether taking a dance class, hitting hiking trails, or joining a soccer team, finding an activity you enjoy makes exercise sustainable.
Experts recommend trying something new if boredom sets in, or involving friends and family to stay motivated.
How Much Exercise Do You Need?
For most healthy adults, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends the following guidelines:
Aerobic Activity: At least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity per week, or an equal combination of both. For even greater health benefits, including weight loss or weight maintenance, aim for 300 minutes or more of moderate aerobic activity weekly.
Moderate aerobic exercise includes brisk walking, biking, swimming, and mowing the lawn.
Vigorous aerobic exercise includes running, swimming laps, heavy yardwork, and aerobic dancing.
Strength Training: Exercises for all major muscle groups at least twice per week. One set of each exercise, using a weight or resistance level that tires muscles after about 12 to 15 repetitions, is sufficient for health and fitness benefits.
Strength training can be performed using weight machines, free weights, body weight, resistance bands, heavy bags, or activities like rock climbing.
A Note Before You Start
Health professionals advise checking with a medical care provider before beginning a new exercise program, particularly if you have concerns about your fitness, haven’t exercised for an extended period, or have chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, or arthritis.
Even small amounts of physical activity during the day add up. The journey to better health can begin with a single step.