Exercise: What are Its Major Benefits in Maintaining Good Health?
Most people know that exercise can help you maintain your good health and keep you fit and trim.
Any type of exercise has been clinically proven to be beneficial to a person’s health and well-being. There are various types of exercises, such as aerobics, sports, and other strenuous physical activities. You can select any of these based on your preferences.
It doesn’t matter what type of exercise you engage in, as long as you’re not sedentary, it would be good for you.
Now, let’s answer the question: “Exercise: What are its Major Benefits in Maintaining Good Health?”
Exercise accords you the following top 10 health benefits:
- Helps in building strong bones and muscles.
When you exercise, your bones become stronger and denser because the constant movement develops the bone’s epiphysis and enhances bone absorption of calcium. The constant pressure and exertion will allow the muscles to condense and strengthen.
The muscles become firm and strong too because the muscle fibers are stretched and relaxed frequently. When muscles are not used they tend to atrophy and be reduced in size.
- Improves blood circulation
Exercise improves blood circulation. Due to the increased pumping of the heart, the blood circulation improves.
This is due to the fact that fat plaques found in the walls of the blood vessels are dislodged and eliminated from the body.
Blood then can now freely and smoothly flow to the different parts of the body. Blood is no longer blocked by these fat deposits.
- Promotes kidney function
The function of the kidneys is to excrete toxic waste products of metabolism from the body. With exercise, the flow of blood increases and toxic waste products are excreted more rapidly and more efficiently.
Foreign objects are acted upon by white blood cells and are excreted from the body through the kidneys or the gastrointestinal tract.
- Enhances respiration
Likewise, respiration is enhanced because the lungs have to function faster to respond to the increased pumping of the heart. The lungs have to increase oxygen intake and carbon dioxide exhalation.
When this happens, there will be sufficient oxygen entering the cells, tissues and organs of the body. This will then boost the physiological and metabolic functions of the various organs.
- Cleanses skin
Due to the reliable elimination of waste products of metabolism, the skin will be clean and smooth – without blemishes.
When you sweat during exercise, the impurities in your skin are also flashed out, allowing the pores of your skin to ‘breathe’ and be free from dirt and dead skin.
- Reduces high blood pressure
Constant exercise has also the ability to reduce the blood pressure of hypertensive individuals. If you exercise regularly you can maintain your normal blood pressure and stay healthy.
These exercises should be aerobic exercises though, because other forms of strenuous exercises can further aggravate the condition of a hypertensive person.
- Boosts mental capacity
Exercise has been proven to clear the mind and boost a person’s mental capacity. This is because the smooth flow of oxygen into the brain is unimpeded. The brain cells (neurons) grow with exercise. The neurons cannot function efficiently without oxygen too.
That’s why when the brain has no oxygen even for a few minutes, brain damage occurs. Hence, it’s important that you do some exercises, so that there will be a rapid transport of oxygen to the brain cells allowing them to function well.
- Improves cardiac function
During exercise, the heart has to pump more blood into the muscles because the muscles need oxygen to produce energy. When the heart is exercised regularly, it becomes stronger and healthier.
The pumping of the heart serves as an exercise to your cardiac muscles, as well. The heart has a unique kind of muscles that are unlike your skeletal muscles.
The cardiac muscle can pump blood involuntarily; however, the cells and tissues require oxygen, vital proteins and nutrients to be able to do this. With exercise, these nutrients reach the heart promptly and improve its function.
- Helps maintain clear eyesight
Just like any other part of the body, the eyes need oxygen and nutrients to function well. So, when ample oxygen is continuously transported to the eyes, the eyes will function reliably.
Exercise allows oxygen and essential nutrients to enter the small capillaries in your eyes, so they could be nourished properly.
Coupled with proper carotene and vitamin A diet, your eyes will stay healthy until you grow old.
- Promotes liver function
The liver is the major metabolic organ responsible in the breakdown and metabolism of the primary foodstuffs that enter the body. These are: carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
When you exercise, this function is promoted because the hepatic cells can perform their functions properly. Metabolism becomes faster, decreasing the risk of having the foodstuff stored in the adipose tissues as harmful fats or triglyceride.
Also, the liver can detoxify and convert harmful substances to less harmful ones more quickly because the biochemical processes are appropriately completed.
However, aside from exercise you should also live a healthy life free from drugs and harmful substances, such as alcohol, caffeine and nicotine. Have enough sleep and sunshine.
In addition, you must drink plenty of water and eat a balanced diet.
Conclusion
The benefits of exercise are tremendous, and you should realize this. If you want a healthy body, you need to stretch those muscles and bones. Exercise need not be complex.
Walking to work and back can be a simple exercise that you can conveniently engage in. Walking to eat lunch or snacks can also be one alternative. Don’t stay seated at your desk for long periods of time. What’s important is to move around and be active.
