Sometimes it’s not about Health, Losing Fat or Building Muscle… It’s simply THERAPY
This quote truly describes the importance of exercise or fitness in our life. Unfortunately, with industrialisation & modernisation, our lifestyles are getting more and more sedentary. People are less active nowadays, partly because technology has made our lives easier. We drive cars or take public transport. Most of the household work is done by machines. We entertain ourselves in front of a TV or computer screen. Fewer people are doing manual work, and most of us have jobs that are completely sedentary in nature. All in all, our work, household chores, shopping and other necessary activities are far less physically demanding than for previous generations.
We move around less and burn less energy than people used to. Research suggests that many adults spend more than 7 hours a day sitting down, at work, on transport or in their leisure time. People aged over 65 spend 10 hours or more each day sitting or lying down, making them the most sedentary age group.
Due to this we are missing out on the immense health benefits of being active, both physical and mental.
1. Regular exercise has been proven to have a positive impact on mental health by reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. It does so by altering the brain's regulation of stress and anxiety, and increasing sensitivity to hormones such as serotonin and norepinephrine, which are known to alleviate feelings of depression. Additionally, exercise can increase the production of endorphins, which are responsible for feelings of euphoria and reduce the perception of pain.
Studies have shown that even a few weeks of not exercising regularly can lead to a significant increase in depression and anxiety symptoms.
2. It helps with weight loss by improving metabolism and increasing calorie expenditure.
Energy expenditure in our body is due to various factors like:
Basal Metabolic Rate (maintaining body functions like your heartbeat and breathing)
Thermal effect of food (energy required for digesting food)
Thermogenesis (energy required to maintain body temperature)
Activity (daily activities and exercise)
Physical inactivity is a major factor in weight gain and obesity. Regular exercise has been shown to increase your metabolic rate, which can burn more calories to help you lose weight. Combining aerobic exercise with resistance training can maximize fat loss and increase muscle mass, which is essential for keeping the weight off.
3. Exercise plays a vital role in building and maintaining strong muscles and bones. Activities like weightlifting can stimulate muscle building when combined with adequate protein intake.
Between the age of 40 and 50 we can lose 8% of the muscle mass and this accelerates to 15% per decade after the age of 75. This decrease in muscle mass is called Sarcopenia is responsible for poor health, disabilities and increased risk of injury in older adults. Regular physical activity is essential to preventing this muscle loss and maintaining strength as you age.
Also, exercise helps build bone density and also to prevent osteoporosis in older people.
4. Exercise improves your energy levels. One study found that 6 weeks of regular exercise reduced feelings of fatigue for 36 people who had reported persistent fatigue. Furthermore, exercise can significantly increase energy levels for people with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and other medical conditions.
5. Exercise reduces risks of many chronic disease like Cardiovascular Disease, Type-2 Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome, Dyslipidaemia and even some Cancers.
Regular exercise has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity, cardiovascular health, and body composition. It can also decrease blood pressure and cholesterol levels. In contrast, a lack of regular exercise — even in the short term — can lead to significant increases in belly fat, which may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
6. Exercise can help you recover from a major illness.
For decades, people with certain diseases were advised not to exercise. But several clinical trials have concluded that for people recovering from a stroke, exercise was even more effective to help then recover and rehabilitate.
7. Regular exercise helps to maintain a good skin too.
Skin can be adversely affected by the oxidative stress in the body. Oxidative stress occurs when the body’s antioxidant defences cannot completely repair the cell damage caused by free radicals. Free radicals damage the structure of the cells and negatively impact your skin. Regular moderate exercise can increase production of natural antioxidants in the body and reduces oxidative stress.
Exercise can stimulate blood flow, enhance detoxification and induce skin cell adaptations that can help delay the appearance of skin aging.
8. Exercise can improve brain function and protect memory and thinking skills.
Increase in heart rate with exercise promotes the flow of blood and oxygen to your brain. It can also stimulate the growth of brain cells. Exercise has been shown to reduce changes in the brain which are responsible for conditions like Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia.
Exercise also stimulates brain to release dopamine, the “reward chemical” and can help in managing addictions. Physical activity can help in the deaddiction process by distracting people from cravings.
9. Regular physical activity, regardless of whether it is aerobic or a combination of aerobic and resistance training, can help you sleep better and feel more energized during the day.
There is the consumption of energy during exercise stimulates the repair processes during sleep. Also, there is an increase in body temperature during exercise which helps in dropping the body temperature during sleep. Both these help to improve sleep quality.
One review of six studies found that participating in an exercise training program helped improve self-reported sleep quality and reduced sleep latency, which is the amount of time it takes to fall asleep. It helped people to sleep longer and more deeply and in turn feel more energized during the day.
10. Exercise has favourable effects on chronic pain associated with various conditions. In fact, earlier people with chronic pain were recommended to rest. However, recent studies show that exercise helps relieve chronic pain. Exercise can help people with chronic health conditions, like chronic low back pain, fibromyalgia, and chronic soft tissue shoulder disorder to reduce their pain and improve their quality of life.
Additionally, physical activity has shown to increase pain tolerance and decrease pain perception.
11. Exercise has been proven to boost sex drive and improve sexual function in both men and women. Regular exercise helps to improve cardiorespiratory fitness, improve blood circulation, tone muscles, and enhance flexibility, all of which can improve your sex life. It improves both sexual performance and frequency of sexual activity.
A review of 10 studies also found that exercising for at least 160 minutes per week over a 6-month period could help significantly improve erectile function in men.
Another study demonstrated that women with polycystic ovary syndrome, which can reduce sex drive, increased their sex drive with regular resistance training for 16 weeks.
12. Exercise has been shown to lengthen lifespan by as much as five years. A small new study suggests that moderate-intensity exercise may slow down the aging of cells. As humans get older and their cells divide over and over again, their telomeres—the protective caps on the end of chromosomes—get shorter.
Muscle biopsy and blood samples were taken from 10 healthy people before and after a 45-minute ride on a stationary bicycle to study effect of exercise on telomere. They found that exercise increased levels of a molecule that protects telomeres, ultimately slowing how quickly they shorten over time. This can essentially slow down cellular aging.
Now that we have understood how much fitness can benefit us let’s see how can we include fitness in our life?
To stay healthy, adults should try to be active every day and aim to achieve at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity throughout the week, or do at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity throughout the week, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity. Additionally, WHO also recommends muscle-strengthening activities at moderate or greater intensity that involve all major muscle groups on two or more days a week, as these provide additional health benefits.
For most people, the easiest way to get moving is to make activity part of everyday life. This basically increases your NEAT or Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. Some simple ways to do this are: -
Take stairs instead on elevator
Stand instead of sitting
Walking or cycling instead of using the car to get around.
Do more household chores
Maintain a garden
Play with your children
Get up and walk around after sitting for 30 minutes
Have “walking meetings” at work when meeting with small groups of people
Go for a walk with a friend instead of meeting for coffee
Walk while talking on the phone
For any type of activity to benefit your health, you need to be moving quick enough to raise your heart rate, breathe faster and feel warmer. This medium level of effort is called Moderate Intensity Activity. While exercising at a moderate intensity, you should still be able to talk but you won't be able to sing the words to a song. Some examples are: -
Brisk walking
Dancing
Gardening
House work and domestic chores
Water aerobics
Bicycling slower than 10 miles per hour
Active involvement in games/ sports with children/ walking domestic animals
Carrying/ moving moderate loads
An activity where you require a higher amount of effort is called Vigorous Intensity Activity. During vigorous activity, your breathing is hard and fast, and your heart rate increases substantially. If you are exercising at a vigorous level, you won't be able to say more than a few words without pausing for a breath.
Race walking, jogging, or running
Fast swimming
Aerobics
Fast Bicycling
Walking/ climbing briskly up a hill
Jumping rope
Hiking uphill or with a heavy backpack
Competitive sports (tennis, football, volleyball, hockey, basketball)
Carrying /shifting heavy loads
In conclusion, regular exercise has numerous physical and mental health benefits. It helps with weight loss, improves muscle and bone strength, increases energy levels, reduces the risk of chronic diseases, aids in recovery from illness and even benefits skin health. It is important to make physical activity a regular part of our daily lives in order to reap these benefits. The sedentary lifestyle that many adults lead today is detrimental to our health and well-being, and efforts should be made to incorporate more movement and exercise into our daily routines.
Content Credits
Dr Sheetal Badami
Author
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