We all know that regular exercise is good for you but did you know it can affect your body in some surprising ways? It is all to do with oxygen flow and how it affects the whole body. Here are some of the lesser known benefits to regular exercise.
Skin
Working out increases the blood flow in the body, and this in turn gets more oxygen to the skin. This increase can also help flush toxins away from the skin to give a radiant glow. With this boost in complexion, new skin cells are generated which assists in the reduction of the appearance of aging. In recent studies, it has been shown that doing around 30 minutes of aerobic exercise every day can help turn back the clock on your skin.
Teeth and Gums
It shouldn't be surprising that our oral health can be affected by the exercise that we do. Unfortunately, the negative aspects tend to be focused on rather than the benefits. For example, people who have never smoked and exercised regularly were 54% less likely to develop gum disease than other non-smokers. Wahroonga Dental suggests having regular dental check ups to make sure that the exercise you do is benefiting your oral health.
Improve Brain Function
There has been a lot of talk recently about how exercise can affect our brain functions and improve them for the better. Brain function is dependent on the oxygen flow to the brain, so the better the flow, the more oxygen the brain gets to work with. This increase of oxygen is necessary to help new cells grow and creates an environment to increase brain plasticity. The best thing about all of these benefits is that they are not limited by age, so it is never too late to start exercising for your brain.
Better Sleep
Sleeping better is getting harder in these times for many reasons. Stress, screen time, and age can affect our sleep. As wonderful as yoga is, it is more vigorous exercise that can give the best benefits to a great night's sleep. Because exercise has been shown to improve your brain health by releasing hormones, these hormones are also necessary to fall asleep quickly and sleep deeper. But don't exercise too close to bedtime as the body needs time to wind down and exercising too close to bedtime can keep you awake.
Increase Your Lifespan
Who wants to live longer? We will take guess and assume that most people answered 'yes' to that question. But people don't want to live longer, they want to live a healthy long life. Regular exercise can help reduce your risk for many different diseases which can affect your quality of life. However, regular exercise can help increase your overall lifespan. It has been shown that 150 minutes of exercise a week can help increase a person's lifespan by seven years. And, you don't need a fancy gym membership to complete your minutes, even a brisk walk can have amazing benefits.
Now that you know some of the surprising benefits of exercise, what's going to motivate you to get moving? Do you have a favourite workout? Share it in the comments below!
And until next time...
Stay Curious!
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