4 Mental and Lifestyle Benefits of Regular Exercise

If you ask a variety of people why they exercise, the majority of the answers will fall into one of two categories: They exercise to be physically fitter, or to be more physically attractive. It’s easy to lump these answers into the same broad category, and for the purposes of this article, we’re going to do exactly that. This is because these reasons both fall into the realm of physical health.

Simply put, even if you received no boosts in physical strength, endurance, flexibility, athleticism or attractiveness from working out, you would still be the recipient of several benefits that would make your dedication to exercising worthwhile. If you’ve been searching for reasons to commit to daily trips to the gym beyond those that are usually mentioned, here are four bonus benefits that you’ll garner simply by taking the time to train.

Enhanced mental acumen

While intellect is usually considered in relation to the number of facts that can be packed into the deep recesses of your brain, the truth is that your brain is an organ that is tied in with the same physiological processes that govern the health of the rest of your body. What this means is that the productivity of your brain is affected by the flow of blood through your system, and the creation of certain chemicals.

Exercise increases the flow of blood throughout your body, including your brain, which accelerates the flow of nutrients to your brain and clears away toxins, enabling your mind to operate more efficiently. Moreover, exercise prompts your brain to form new neurons, which boosts the ability of your brain to learn and store new information.

Beyond this, in a trial of 120 older adults, the act of exercising literally increased the average hippocampal volume of study participants by two percent, quickly helping the test subjects to recover nearly two years worth of volume lost to the effects of aging.

Psychological relief

The benefits of exercise to your brain extend beyond direct cognitive function and into the realm of psychological enhancements. Much of this is rightly owed to the escalation of blood flow to the brain, which amplifies brain function in general. It also reduces the production of cortisol, which is associated with elevated stress, and increases endorphins and serotonin levels. 

A meta-analysis of different studies showed that exercise across the board seems to mitigate depressive symptoms, regardless of the type of exercise it is. Everything from walking and jogging to yoga, resistance training, and tai chi was found to be highly beneficial in helping to improve study participants’ psychological health alongside their physical fitness.

Improved social skills

If you decide to exercise with a team, a group, or even just a single individual, striving for improvement alongside other people is one of the best relationship-building methods there is. All of this is in addition to the fact that the core advantages of physical training in a team environment follow the same pattern as solo training.

A meta-analysis of 29 studies exploring the benefits on adults of training in team environments — with the adults ranging in age from 18 to 84 — concluded that simply training with others improved social outcomes, like self-control, pro-social behavior, and interpersonal communication, and a greater sense of belonging. In addition, those who participated in full-on team sports with the greatest regularity reported having the greatest overall benefits.

Sounder sleep

Even if exercise did nothing at all to benefit your physical health, it would be advantageous purely for how it eases the process of helping you fall asleep. A thorough examination of studies that evaluated the effects of exercise on sleep quality showed that exercise improved sleep quality, reduced sleep latency, and resulted in improved sleep overall.

In addition, these benefits extend to people with certified sleeping disorders, as individuals diagnosed with insomnia were also proven to achieve more restful sleep by engaging in regularly scheduled exercise. So if you have a history of sleeplessness, or find it challenging to fall asleep, exercise may be beneficial to you simply for the improved ease of dozing off.

Exercise is the best medicine

Understandably, the desire to look good and perform better in displays of pure physical prowess is an attractive enticement to exercise. Then again, if you’re looking for further motivation to start working out, or even to increase the frequency with which you train, the four aforementioned ways in which exercise will soon have you feeling and functioning better will probably do the trick.

Summary

1. The benefits of exercise extend far beyond its capacity to help you lose body fat, acquire a more attractive appearance, and help you become a better athlete.

2. Working out promotes the flow of blood to your brain, stimulating the delivery of nutrients, and spawning neurons that boost cognitive processes and memory retention.

3. Exercise decreases the hormones that cause stress and depressive thoughts while elevating your levels of hormones that cause pleasant feelings.

4. Training in pairs or groups has been proven to improve several interpersonal behaviors, including self control and communication skills.

5. Exercise induces greater relaxation, and enables you to achieve sounder and more restful sleep.

6. Even if you are primarily exercising for the outward physical improvements that it engenders, exercise can cause advancements in several other aspects of your life.