Physical activities very much influence our overall health. Many of us decide every day to head to the gym or make resolutions at the beginning of the new year to exercise more regularly. However, motivation is hard to come by unless you enjoy exercising or have an extreme urge to shed some pounds.
Health is a serious concern in Iowa as almost 50% of the adult population suffers from obesity, a leading cause of many serious medical conditions. Considering the situation, the State of Iowa Department of Health and Human Services has even introduced the ‘Healthy Iowans’ process to help citizens stay healthy.
Undoubtedly, physical activity is extremely important if you want to stay healthy. So, what can you do to finally commit to adding any physical activity to your routine? You can start by looking at some benefits of regular physical activity and how it affects your overall health.
Effect of Physical Activities on Your Overall Health
Here’s how regular physical activities benefit your health in the long run:
- Feeling Energized
One of the biggest changes people feel after adding regular exercise to their routine is increased stamina and energy. Suddenly walking to the corner store or skipping the elevator for the stairs won’t seem all that daunting. What happens is that physical activity helps you build muscle strength and stamina and allows your cardiovascular system to work more effectively. With improved heart health, your energy levels will automatically shoot up.
However, if you continue to feel low on energy after starting any exercise regime, you might suffer from a vitamin deficiency. If that’s the case, head to your local pharmacy in Iowa and get the multivitamins or supplements your body needs.
- Regulates Weight
Having an active lifestyle is important for more than just losing weight. However, few incentives bring about motivation more than getting in shape. We all want to look our best and flaunt our best look. Regular exercise can help you burn extra calories and help you easily reach your goal weight. Additionally, even if you don’t need to lose weight, regular physical activity can turn excess fat into muscle mass for that perfect summer body!
With regular exercise and a disciplined lifestyle, you can see and feel a visible difference in your appearance and health in weeks. However, remember to track your progress when you start exercising, walking, cycling, or incorporating any other physical activity into your routine. It may also be worth learning more about Coolsculpting, a breakthrough fat-reduction procedure that may enhance your body. The results will serve as a great motivating force.
- Prevents Medical Problems
There is another very important health benefit of being physically active, i.e., it helps prevent an array of diseases. The human body is like a machine that needs proper maintenance and care. And physical activity for the human body is similar to running a car’s engine. For instance, if a car’s engine is kept stagnant for too long, the engine begins to rust and yields different problems. Similarly, without physical activity, our bodies develop various diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, bone problems, muscle pains, etc.
Therefore, even if you can’t commit to a regular gym schedule or any other form of workout, do what you can, regardless of how small it may be. Taking the stairs at work or anywhere else daily can make a difference.
- Improves Mood
Have you ever felt you could conquer the world after a strenuous workout? Well, there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for that. First, of course, the adrenaline high comes with intense physical activity. Secondly, physical activity stimulates chemicals in your brain and helps pump the production of endorphins (think Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde) – the neurotransmitters responsible for inducing feelings of happiness.
By boosting your mood, physical activity can help you escape mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. Additionally, you will feel more confident as you start to look better.
- Improves Brain Health
Exercise is known to improve brain health, cognitive function, and memory. People who incorporate any physical activity into their routine are often quick on their feet and are better critical thinkers. It’s because physical activity helps with the growth of brain cells. In simple scientific terms, when you exercise, walk, or do any other physical activity, your heart rate grows up, and the flow of oxygen throughout your body increases. It leads to the enhanced production of brain cells, which protects brain function.
Further, studies suggest that being physically active can also help reduce the risk of problems related to brain functions, such as Dementia, as it helps curb negative changes in the brain.
- Improves Sleep Cycle
Another lesser-known health benefit of physical activity is improved sleep. Getting sufficient sleep is essential for staying healthy. Your body uses the time you sleep to rest and repair itself. Some of these repairs only occur once your body enters deep sleep. However, this essential process can be interrupted if you have trouble sleeping or often wake up at night. Therefore, sleep plays an important role in maintaining overall health.
Physical activity gives your body a healthy outlet for internal stress and can help it relax. Hence, it can help you sleep longer with fewer interruptions.
- Increases Libido
A healthy libido is a key sign of good physical, mental, and emotional health. People with a low sex drive often have an underlying health problem as the root cause. Regular exercise improves blood circulation and heart health, which helps increase your libido. Additionally, having physical activity in your routine means higher stamina, more flexibility, and increased self-confidence. All of these are great for improving one’s sex drive.
A good sex drive also helps maintain your sexual health and reduces the risk of developing hormonal and sexual disorders.
Conclusion
Physical activities have numerous health benefits in addition to the ones listed above. The more you incorporate regular exercise into your everyday routine, the better your overall health. The hardest part is taking the first step towards staying healthy. After that, you can use easy tips to keep yourself on track. For instance, find an exercise buddy, set up a fixed time for any daily physical activity, and keep your eyes on the goal. All these will help you continue down your path of improving your overall h