Next time you're too busy, tired, or achy to lace up your sneakers, remember these health-transforming benefits of exercise.
1. Be Happier at Work
Increase productivity...and
maybe get a raise
An active lifestyle may help you
check off extra items on your
to-do list, says a study from
the University of Bristol in the
United Kingdom. On days staffers
participated in on-site fitness
activities, they reported
thinking more clearly, getting
more done, and interacting more
effectively with colleagues.
You'll be less likely to miss
work due to illness, too.
Research shows that people who
participate in vigorous
leisure-time physical activity
(such as jogging or bicycling)
just once or twice a week take
about half the sick time of
those who are more sedentary.
Do this: Sign up for workplace fitness classes. None on-site? Recruit coworkers to go for a lunch hour power walk. Or ask HR to designate a room for a noontime stretching or workout session, using DVD instruction.
2. Improve Your
Vocabulary
Brush up on your Scrabble skills
A single treadmill session can
make you brainier. Exercisers
who ran just two 3-minute
sprints, with a 2-minute break
in between, learned new words
20% faster than those who
rested, in a University of
Muenster in Germany study.
Getting your heart pumping
increases blood flow, delivering
more oxygen to your noggin. It
also spurs new growth in the
areas of the brain that control
multitasking, planning, and
memory.
Do this: Add a bout of exercise, like running up and down the stairs, before trying to memorize anything--say, Spanish phrases for your trip to Mexico.
3. Get Natural Pain
Relief
Keep moving to ease stiff, achy
joints
It may seem counterintuitive,
but rest isn't necessarily best
for reducing pain and stiffness
in the knees, shoulders, back,
or neck. Healthy adults who did
aerobic activity consistently
had 25% less musculoskeletal
pain than their couch-bound
peers, says Stanford senior
research scientist Bonnie Bruce,
DrPH, MPH, RD.
Exercise releases endorphins, the body's natural pain reliever, and may make you less vulnerable to tiny tears in muscles and tendons. Staying active can also provide relief for chronic conditions such as arthritis: In a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study, arthritis sufferers experienced 25% less pain and 16% less stiffness after 6 months of low-impact exercise like balance and strengthening moves. Most people start to feel improvement within a few weeks, says study author Leigh Callahan, PhD, an associate professor of medicine at UNC.
Do this: Practice yoga or tai chi twice a week; both increase flexibility and range of motion and reduce pain.
4. Feel Sexy at Any Size
Flaunt a figure you can be proud
of
A good workout practically
ensures a better body image. The
simple act of
exercising-regardless of your
weight or fitness level-can make
you feel positive about how you
look, possibly due to the
release of feel-good hormones,
finds a review of 57 studies on
exercise and body image.
Working out can also boost your libido by increasing blood flow to the genitals. University of Washington research found that just one 20-minute cycling workout enhanced sexual arousal up to 169% in women. And the benefits stand the test of time: A Harvard study of swimmers found that those over age 60 were as satisfied sexually as those decades younger.
Do this: Try 20 minutes of aerobics before a romantic evening. To feel good naked anytime, walk or do yoga daily.
5. Lower Dental Bills
A health-boost worth smiling
about
Flossing and brushing, it turns
out, are not the only keys to a
healthy smile, says Mohammad Al-Zahrani,
DDS, PhD, a former associate
professor at Case Western
Reserve University. Exercise
plays an important role, too. In
his recent study, Al-Zahrani
discovered that adults who did
30 minutes of moderate activity
5 or more times a week were 42%
less likely to suffer from
periodontitis, a gum disease
that's more common as you get
older. Working out may thwart
periodontitis the same way it
does heart disease--by lowering
levels of inflammation-causing
C-reactive protein in the blood.
Do this: In addition to staying active, get a twice-yearly dental cleaning (or more often if your dentist says you are at high risk for gum disease).
6. Unlock Hidden Energy
Rouse your body out of a slump
If you're among the 50% of
adults who report feeling tired
at least 1 day a week, skip the
java and go for a walk.
University of Georgia
researchers who analyzed 70
different studies concluded that
moving your body increases
energy and reduces fatigue.
Regular exercise boosts certain
fatigue-fighting brain chemicals
such as norepinephrine and
dopamine, which pep you up, and
serotonin, a mood enhancer.
Do this: Take a 20-minute stroll for a quick pick-me-up, or aim for 40 minutes of activity daily for a sustained lift.
7. Shrink Stress Fat
Combat anxiety-related weight
gain
Just two 40-minute workouts a
week is enough to stop dangerous
belly fat in its tracks,
according to University of
Alabama at Birmingham research.
The waistline of those who
worked out less expanded an
average of 3 inches. Exercise
may lower levels of hormones
such as cortisol that promotes
belly fat.
8. Slash Cold Risk 33%
Build up your body's defenses
Moderate exercise doesn't just rev your metabolism--it boosts your immune system, too, helping your body fight off cold bugs and other germs. Women ages 50 to 75 who did 45 minutes of cardio, 5 days a week, had a third as many colds as those who did once-weekly stretching sessions, a University of Washington study found.
Do this: Add more cardio to your routine by turning your walk into a run.
9. Improve Vision
Carrots are great, but exercise
might be better
What's good for your heart is
good for your eyes. An active
lifestyle can cut your risk of
age-related macular degeneration
by up to 70%, according to a
British Journal of Ophthalmology
study of 4,000 adults. This
incurable disease makes reading,
driving, and seeing fine details
difficult, and it's the most
common cause of blindness after
age 60.
Do this: Protect your eyes during all outdoor activities (if you're a walker, shoot for a mile a day). Be sure to wear UVA/UVB-blocking sunglasses all year long.
10. Reach the Deep-Sleep
Zone
Decent shut-eye is not a far off
dream
Say good night to poor sleep.
Women age 60 and older who
walked or danced for at least an
hour, four times a week, woke up
half as often and slept an
average 48 minutes more a night
than sedentary women, according
to a study in the journal Sleep
Medicine. That is good news for
the many women who toss and turn
more as they get older. As you
age, sleep patterns start
shifting, so you spend more of
the night in lighter sleep
phases, says Shawn Youngstedt,
PhD, an assistant professor of
exercise science at the
University of South Carolina.
Do this: Aim to exercise for at least half an hour, even if it's after a long day. Evidence suggests that for most people, light to moderate activity in the evening won't disturb sleep, though trial and error will tell you what works for you.
11. Never Get Diabetes
Walk to keep your blood sugar in
check
Walking 2 miles 5 times a week
may be more effective at
preventing diabetes than running
nearly twice as much, report
Duke University researchers.
Because fat is the primary fuel
for moderate exercise, walking
may better improve the body's
ability to release insulin and
control blood sugar.
Do this: Start a walking program
12. Eliminate Belly
Bloat
Shrink the muffin top
The next time you feel puffy around the middle, resist the urge to stay put. A study from Spain's Autonomous University of Barcelona suggests that mild physical activity clears gas and alleviates bloating. That's because increasing your heart rate and breathing stimulates the natural contractions of the intestinal muscles, helping to prevent constipation and gas buildup by expediting digestion.
Do this: Walk or pedal lightly on a bike until you feel better.
13. Clear Out Brain Fog
Build your mental muscle
Exercise is linked to a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease among older people; now, new research shows it can prevent brain fog at a much younger age too. Japanese researchers assigned sedentary young adults to two groups; one took aerobic exercise classes, and the other did not. After 4 months, MRIs revealed that the nonexercising group experienced shrinkage of gray matter in some areas of the brain, while the active participants had no change.
Do this: Try a new fitness routine, or sign up for a new class at the gym. Besides the obvious benefit of getting a workout, trying something fresh can help stimulate the growth of brain cells.
14. Save Your Heart
Reduce dangerous inflammation
Sedentary, obese women age 50 and older who began exercising lowered their levels of C-reactive protein-an inflammatory blood marker linked to heart disease—by 10% after 1 year, found research recently published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
15. Add Years to Your
Life
Stay healthy and active for
years to come
Being physically fit can
actually change how your body
works. Vigorous exercisers have
longer telomeres-cellular
biomarkers that shorten as we
age-compared with healthy adults
who rarely work out.
16. Ease Your Ailments
Heal your body with yoga
Yoga has a well-earned
reputation as a surefire stress
reducer (particularly when
combined with meditation), and
new studies show the simple
stretching regimen can also help
treat and prevent a number of
other ailments, from back pain
to diabetes. Other research
reveals regular yoga practice
can put an end to mindless
eating by creating an outlet for
emotions that can lead to
binging. Unfortunately, less
than 15% of women over age 35
say they do yoga frequently,
according to the National
Sporting Goods Association.
17. Survive Breast
Cancer
Increase your defenses against
the disease
Exercise not only reduces breast cancer risk, it can also save your life if you're diagnosed. Overweight women who were exercising more than 3 hours a week before they were diagnosed were 47% less likely to die than those who exercised less than a half hour per week.
Do this: Sneak in mini bouts of exercise. Take a quick walk when you get the morning paper, hit the stairs before lunch, or knock out a few pushups and crunches while watching TV. Just two to three 10-minute workouts a day is enough to fill your quota for the week.