How much are you ready to pay for a drug that can reduce your risks of chronic illness, increase your lifespan, improve your sex life, minimize your stress and increase your happiness?
The answer is it’s almost free, or in other words it costs you just 30 minutes of your time each day. And the “medication” is exercise.
A recent study shows in the last few decades jobs that involve intense physical activity has shrunk from 50% in 1960 to 20% today, and the time people spend in front of TV and computer screens has grown dramatically. Hence obesity and chronic illness in the U.S. have increased to epidemic proportions.
The benefits of physical activity are so great a lot of initiatives and programs have come up in large numbers encouraging people and patients to take part in it on daily basis.
Starting each day with a three-mile run, half-hour bike ride or 30 minutes of fast-paced walking helps us feel more energetic, less depressed and more optimistic for hours to come. And when we feel positive, we are more likely to be successful at fulfilling our potential and meeting our goals in life.
- Exercise cuts the risk of heart disease by raising “good” cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein, or HDL) and reducing unhealthy fats (triglycerides) in our blood, helping to prevent blood vessel blockages that could result in a heart attack or stroke.
- Exercise helps our heart and lungs become stronger and more efficient at oxygenating our blood and pumping it to the tissues of our body, we feel better and stronger.
- Exercise we do during the day helps our natural biorhythms kick in at night.
- Exercise diminishes the likelihood of decreased cognitive function as we age, and may significantly lower the odds of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Source: Forbes
