Psychological Benefits of Exercise essays

Psychological Benefits of Exercise essays The physical benefits of exercise has been the main motivating factor for many people who adopt a regular physical fitness program. Physicians have long known the benefits of regular exercise and a healthy diet, although weight loss or weight management has been a major influence for people who begin a regular exercise program. Many more people, however, are directed by their own physician to become physically active or risk disease and/or possibly death. Regular physical exercise has proven beneficial to cardiovascular health by controlling diabetes, slowing the progression of osteoporosis, lowering high blood pressure, improving cholesterol levels, as well as decreasing the chances of contracting colds and flu. While these factors alone are sufficient reasons for a life-long commitment to physical exercise, further developments have been realized in the psychological benefits of exercise. Could exercise possibly have an effect on emotional health and if so what are they? Research has shown that regular exercise provides psychological benefits, which include positive effects on memory and thinking, anxiety and depression, overall emotional well-being, creativity and imagination, and improved mental vigor. Probably the most known benefit of exercise to the human body is the improvements of cardiovascular health. The heart is a muscle that becomes stronger and larger with exercise, enabling it to pump blood through the body more efficiently. Exercise has also been shown to cause the development of new blood vessels in the heart and enlarges the arteries that supply blood to the heart (Landry 1). A healthy diet and regular exercise can also improve cholesterol levels: People who maintain an active lifestyle have a 45% lower risk of developing coronary heart disease than do sedentary people. A recent study reported that moderate dietary changes improve cholesterol levels and so lower the risk for coronary artery disease ...