So, you don’t need to lose weight and have discovered ingenious ways to get a ‘runner’s high’ without moving from your seat. Pesteringly, however, the reasons to exercise continue to mount. Family Health Diary reports.
Whatever your excuses for dodging exercise, they’re no longer good enough.
As time goes on, exercise is proving to be even more imperative than previously thought. Increasingly it’s revealing itself as the panacea for all ills, with its pay-offs escalating in virtue.
Let’s look at the facts. It not only makes the heart stronger and lungs fitter, it also lowers blood pressure and reduces cholesterol levels, reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke.
In older people, regular exercise helps improve functional ability and prevent falls and fractures.
It’s even been shown to benefit people with Alzheimer’s Disease and Down Syndrome.
Reports in recent months have also shown:
• Exercise curbs cigarette cravings
A UK study has found that just 5-10 minutes of exercise can help manage cigarette cravings and withdrawal symptoms. In some cases, exercise has been shown to cut cravings as much as, or even more than, chewing nicotine gum.
• Yoga eases anxiety
Researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine have found that a
combination of yoga postures, breathing and meditation can boost levels of the
neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric (GAMA), helping ease anxiety and
depression.
• Exercise may increase breast cancer survival
A Californian study of 1500 women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer has shown that a combination of walking and eating fruit can halve their risk of dying from the disease.
• Exercise improves good cholesterol
Japanese researchers have found that regular exercise can help boost levels of
good cholesterol, resulting in a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease in men and women.
All that said, winter doesn’t exactly propel us into lycra and rouse the Olympian in each of us.
If the thought of hitting the pavement or the gym sounds too arduous when you’re gripped by cold and yearning for comfort, there are less painful ways to get your exercise over winter.
Try the following:
• Dust off the old exercise videos. A regular home workout will not only keep you fit, but also keep you warm.
• Keep your home spotless. Doing more housework is probably not your idea of fun, but can burn around 240 calories an hour.
• Get a skipping rope or an exercise ball. These are inexpensive exercise tools you can keep around the home and use at your will.
• Cram as many steps into your day as possible. Park your car further from work, look for stairwells, walk to the corner shop instead of driving. Set rules for yourself, such as not driving anywhere less than a km away.
• Play more. Get outdoors with friends, children and pets. You’ll get a work-out that won’t feel like exercise at all.
In
a nutshell, just keep moving and seeking out creative ways to do so.
For when further exercise perks are unveiled, you won't want to be the
artful dodger who misses out.
Ed.
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