Top Line
Exercise or physical activity is the single best thing you can do to improve your health. Decades of research has consistently shown that every part of our body inside and out benefits from daily exercise.
Why it Matters
A lack of exercise or physical activity is one of the most significant factors in the development of most major chronic diseases. Conversely, consistent exercise is associated with a lowered risk of premature death, coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, metabolic disease, colon and breast cancer. Furthermore, exercise reduces and prevents weight gain, improves bone density, cardiovascular function, muscular strength, cognitive function, and more!
Key Takeaways
- The MacArthur studies of successful aging found physical fitness to be the single most important factor in remaining healthy in old age.1
- Physical fitness maintained by a consistent exercise regimen can substantially reduce the behavioral effect of many age-related changes that limit mobility, reduce independence, and affect the enjoyment of life in older age. 1
- Participation in regular physical activity is associated with a reduced risk for dementia or cognitive decline and depression in older adults.5,6,7
Article:
Exercise is without a doubt the single greatest thing you can do to not only improve your quality of life but prevent chronic disease. Many of the major chronic diseases that are prevalent today can be mitigated by daily exercise. In fact, the MacArthur studies of successful aging found physical fitness to be the single most important factor in remaining healthy in old age.1
Moreover, physical fitness maintained by a consistent exercise regimen can substantially reduce the behavioral effect of many age-related changes that limit mobility, reduce independence, and affect the enjoyment of life in older age.1 This is also in mind of the fact that sleep, nutrition, and exercise are all connected and if you lack in one area, the others will suffer.
For example, when getting less sleep, appetite-stimulating hormones such as ghrelin (hunger feeling) increase, causing strong cravings for sugar, sweets, and processed foods while satiety (feeling full) hormones, such as leptin, are blunted. Additionally, insufficient sleep is strongly associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, dementias, depression and anxiety, and mortality.2
Fortunately, 20-30 minutes of daily exercise helps balance your circadian rhythm and improve sleep quality.3,4 Therefore, a workout following a bad night of sleep may help reverse the negative side effects of a poor night’s sleep. Thereby aiding in the body’s ability to ward off all the chronic diseases noted earlier through improving sleep quality. For more on how sleep quality effects the body and how you can improve your sleep quality read our previous article here.
Lastly, participation in regular physical activity is associated with a reduced risk for dementia or cognitive decline and depression in older adults.5,6,7 For example, among physically active men, each additional hour of moderate activity replaced with vigorous activity was associated with lower odds of depression, 32% lower odds for one hour and 52% lower odds for two hours, anything past 2.5 hours per week did not associate with lower odds.8
While this was not an exhaustive review of all the health benefits exercise provides it does highlight why daily exercise receives such high praise. The only way to not benefit from exercise is to neglect it all together.
Jon Esposito MA, CSCS, CISSN, USAW