By Mahika / 05 May 2020
Hello Fitness, Goodbye Sickness!
Did you know that one of the benefits of staying fit is that it can help you live longer and healthier? Here are 5 facts about exercising and staying fit!
1. Staying fit helps you get less sick
That’s right, folks. Chances are that if you’ve been exercising lately, you’re less likely to fall sick. As you exercise, your body begins to eliminate dangerous and harmful bacteria from your lungs through the air passages. This, as a result, reduces your chances of getting an illness, like a flu or a cold. Furthermore, the rise in the body temperature right after exercising also helps in fighting against the harmful bacteria that may enter your body otherwise. Research has also shown that regular exercise can help to improve your insulin sensitivity, cardiovascular fitness and even body composition. Starting to exercise daily could be a challenge, but you’d be surprised to see what your body could achieve. Who knew a run a day could also keep a doctor away?
2. Physical fitness and mental fitness go hand in hand!
Getting fit through regular exercise can not only improve your physical fitness, but also your mental health. When a person exercises, the human body is said to release endorphins which is a chemical that interacts with the receptors in the brain and indeed reduce the perception of pain. In a way, it’s the most natural and safe drug to make yourself feel happier. Exercise can help reducing mental disorders like depression, anxiety and stress. These issues are real and can be very overpowering sometimes, and if tend to go out of hand, professional intervening is necessary. One should never hesitate to seek help when needed. Nonetheless, exercising is definitely a great way to give yourself a break from tight schedules and focus on yourself; something that should always be your top most priority.
3. Your life expectancy can increase
Since you’re already healthier because of regular exercise, your life expectancy can hike efficiently. Through exercising, the body starts to generate HDL cholesterol levels and decrease the harmful LDL cholesterol levels to help strengthen the cardiovascular activity of your body. Your body starts to lower the blood pressure and the blood sugar level as you start to burn the body fat. If you continue to build a habitual exercising pattern, your body will start to get use to adapting it. And once that’s done, exercise becomes a habit. Healthy habits like eating a balanced diet should also be inculcated in one’s life. A healthier lifestyle can, hence, without a doubt be used as a tool to live a longer and healthier life.
4. Exercise lowers your risk of having cancer
Research shows that regular exercise is known to lower the risk of people getting certain cancers. For instance, regular exercise has consistently decreased the chances of getting colon cancer by 24% and also lung cancer by 20%. Another example can be that of prostate cancer, and how the physical activity can lower its rate of spreading across the body. How is that possible? You may ask. Since the body starts getting use the regular exercising pattern, various blood sugar levels get reduced, including the elimination of toxic bacteria of the body. This, in turn, reduces the chances of a person getting diagnosed with these types of cancers.
5. Physical activity also strengthens the cardiovascular system
It’s most certainly true that physical activity can make your heart stronger, reduce your chances of a heart stroke, and in turn, help you live longer. When the human body stays mobile for a significant amount of time, the fats from food we eat, start to get stored in the adipose tissue, making the body fat and raising the harmful LDL cholesterol levels. If a person has a heart stroke and survives, various exercise-rehabilitation programs are advised which can further reduce the chances of getting another heart attack. Most people who are physically active in their late 50s remain healthy longer.