people work out to look good, but ’s a more important reason to keep cles strong and toned. uilding muscle through resistance ing enables us to perform day-tounctional tasks, such as lifting y shopping bags or squatting to up something from the floor,” says lie Smith. “Plus, strong muscles ort joints and bones to keep the aligned and upright, helping to tain balance and posture.” ring our later years when cle mass, strength and ion naturally starts cline – a process d sarcopenia engthening ises are cially vital. hese can help ce the risk of allowing older le to retain mobility and pendence for er,” she adds.
Reduce menopausal symptoms
“While there’s little evidence that exercise alleviates hot flushes or night sweats, it can definitely help with other common menopausal symptoms such as weight gain, stress, anxiety, low mood, loss of libido and fatigue,” says Dr Dawn Harper, GP and co-presenter of Channel 4’s Embarrassing Bodies.
“Exercise also benefits the bones and heart. That’s important because during the menopause the protective effects of oestrogen are lost, increasing the risk of osteoporosis and
cardiovascular disease.”
Beat stress
Getting active is a great way to manage stress – and it’s not just down to producing feel-good endorphins. Focusing on an activity – whether it’s dance, a racket sport or football – means you’ll be concentrating less on irritations and situations that wind you up and it will relieve tension.
Lower your cancer risk
Being physically active is one of the 10 recommendations from the World Cancer Research Fund to prevent cancer. According to WCRF: “The evidence implies that, in general, the more physically active people are, the lower the risk of some cancers.”
This includes a reduced risk of cancers of the colon, breast and womb.
Get a healthier heart
Aerobic exercise doesn’t just work the muscles we can see. The heart is actually a muscle so it benefits from regular workouts to keep it functioning properly.
According to the British Heart Foundation, exercise reduces the risk of heart and circulatory diseases such as heart attacks, strokes and vascular dementia by up to 35 per cent.
It also reduces blood pressure and blood cholesterol, both of which are risk factors for cardiovascular disease and affect around a quarter of all UK adults.
Improve your self-esteem
“Being physically active can make us feel more confident and encourages better mental health and positive decision making,” says Dr Shathur, who often gives holistic lifestyle advice to her dental clients.
“Exercise provides an activity to focus on and a sense of achievement when we’ve completed it, adding to a positive state of mind. Plus, it can make us feel good about ourselves and improve body image. Together, these help us value our self-worth.”
Relieve pain
“Exercise often helps to ease pain rather than making it worse. For example, in people with back pain, staying active helps to keep muscles, bones and joints strong, which helps to prevent conditions worsening and causing more pain,” says Dr Harper. “Physical activity also produces endorphins, substances that make us feel happier and act as natural pain relievers.”
Build stronger bones
“Weight-bearing and resistance exercises help increase bone density so bones stay strong. This can help to reduce the risk of osteoporosis in later life, a condition that affects 3.5 million people in the UK and results in half of all women and one in five men over the age of 50 breaking a bone,” says Dr Harper.
“Weight-bearing exercise includes walking, jogging, dancing, aerobics and racket sports.”
Better sex life
Aerobic exercise helps to improve blood flow around the body – including to our sexual organs, which can help to increase arousal.
Furthermore, numerous studies show exercise can help protect against and even manage erectile dysfunction – difficulty in getting and keeping an erection.
For example, a study published in the medical journal Sexual Medicine found 40 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise four times a week improved the condition in sufferers within six months.
Lower your risk of type 2 diabetes
“Type 2 diabetes affects around five million people in the UK and exercise has an important role to play in both preventing and managing the condition,” says Dr Harper.
For example, US research published in the British Medical Journal found that 30 minutes of walking each day, when combined with a low-fat diet, reduced the risk of developing the condition by 58 per cent.
“People with insulin resistance or prediabetes have raised blood glucose [sugar] levels but they’re not high enough to diagnose type 2 diabetes. Exercise, together with weight loss, if necessary, can help lower blood glucose,” Dr Harper adds.
Sleep better
If you struggle to get eight hours a night, physical activity could help. According to the Sleep Foundation, exercise helps to reduce the time it takes to fall asleep and improves both sleep quality and duration.
Daytime activity may be the key for some though. Strenuous exercise in the late evening reduces melatonin, a hormone produced by the brain in response to darkness that aids sleep and supports our 24-hour body clock.
Plus, exercise raises our core body temperature, normally a signal to our body that it’s time to wake up and become active.
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