Ten Reasons Why You Should Make Exercise Your Number One Drug

The benefits of exercise are far more than just losing weight or achieving that “summer body.” Exercise benefits everything from your sleep quality to your energy level, and even your memory. From making you happier to helping you live longer, regular exercise is key to living a healthy, balanced life. There are a lot of ailments that could be avoided if one had a little of this “drug” every day.

Photo: Africanbelle

Here are ten benefits of making exercise an every day drug:

1. It boosts happiness levels. It Lifts Your Mood. Exercise relieves stress, improves sleep, and lifts your spirit. It lowers the likelihood of anxiety and depression and can be used in treatment. You always feel better after a good workout, and on days when you are more physically active.

2. It is a brain booster. Exercise improves blood flow to the brain and feeds the growth of new blood vessels and brain cells. It can also help improve your memory. Jogging can jog your memory. Get it?

3. It helps you sleep better. If you can’t sleep, exercising can help you sleep better at night and stay active during the day.

4. It gives you an energy boost. If you are exhausted, the last thing you may want to do is exercise, but it’s the advisable thing to do. It can even help you perform better at work. Take a stroll at lunchtime or just take a walk around the office when you can help it.

5. It improves skin health and makes your skin glow because of the increased blood flow. Your skin will glow because the increased blood flow delivers oxygen and nutrients that improve skin health.

Photo: My melanin rocks

6. It increases strength and flexibility. Incorporate training and stretching into your daily workout routine and that can make a whole difference to you.

7. It Keeps You Young. (Literally!) Not only do flexibility and balance keep you moving quickly and feeling young, but studies show that exercise can add up to 5 years to your life. That’s because it helps slow down the aging of cells.

8. It Promotes and Speeds Up Healing. The right kind and amount of movement can work wonders. Be sure to check with your doctor first about the best exercise for you, especially if your condition is severe. It reduces your risk of heart disease naturally. It makes you less susceptible to disease.

9. It Makes You slender and elegant. Exercising is a strong part of any healthy diet plan. It helps and likely increasing your appetite, so losing weight may not come quickly. But the good news is that exercise helps you burn fat more efficiently and causes fat cells to shrink.

10. It makes you live longer. Really. Statistics state that exercising for 10 minutes a day or 75 minutes a week can earn you an extra 1.8 years, especially for those who are overweight. One of exercise’s biggest benefits is that it keeps you happy and your body healthy to live a longer, fuller life.

riding exercise bike in gym. Photo: Huffington Post

It is recommended that you exercise 150 minutes a week — that’s 5 days of 30 minutes each. Take a walk! Ride a bike. Go swimming. Run. If you do not have time, you can just do a quick 10-minute workout. Make sure you put in all the energy you can to do this though. The great news: You don’t need to suit up in expensive gear and works out for hours. Cleaning, dusting, vacuuming, strolling, and dancing — any physical activity counts.