- Feel Less Stressed – Reducing stress doesn’t have to involve a large glass of wine and a box of chocolates. Exercise can help combat stress through the release of endorphins, a chemical produced by your body which gives you that super-happy feeling. If you’ve ever hit the gym, or been for a run you’ll recognise the effects of endorphins, which for runners is referred to as ‘runner’s high’. It feels great and every time you exercise, you’ll get that same feeling! Plus, it’s free.
- Combat Tiredness – If you’re feeling sluggish the last thing you probably want to do is get out and exercise, but in fact, that’s exactly what you should be doing. Scientists have proved that taking part in moderate exercise for 2 1/2 hours per week will make you feel less tired. So, with the evenings drawing out, grab your trainers and get out there!
- Increase Your Self Confidence – Ahead of summer, the age old trauma of getting beach-ready rears its ugly head. If you get ahead of the game and introduce exercise in to your daily routine, even just a ten minute workout, you’re self-confidence will be sky high in time for summer. There are loads of ten minute workouts online which you can try; some cardio-based, some stretch-based and some weight-based – just search “Ten minute workouts”.
- Improve Your Cognitive Function – To you and I, that basically means, exercise can help you to think more clearly. Cognition is a group of mental processes that includes attention, memory, producing and understanding language, learning, reasoning, problem solving, and decision making. It is said that daily exercise can help you to maintain excellent cognitive function, and research even shows it can help prevent diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
- Get A Better Night’s Sleep – means a better day after. Exercise during the day, (not just before bed though), to help promote a deep and restful sleep which in turn has copious benefits. Walking a mile a day can dramatically improve sleep quality in adults.
- Get Better Posture – Slouched over a desk all day can give you bad habits on the posture front. Yoga and Pilates are a great way of getting everything realigned as it should be. At first its best to join a class so you can be taught properly but the great thing is, once you’ve mastered the basics it’s easy to carry it on at home, or if it’s a sunny day, out in your garden or local park.
- Have Radiant, Glowing Skin – To put it bluntly, exercise makes you sweat and it opens your pores which in turn clears out all the rubbish which builds up during your day to day existence. Some liken exercise to a mini facial for its benefits to the skin.
- Develop Better Self Control – There’s no getting away from it, exercise is a commitment. It takes time out of your daily routine and to start with, quite frankly can be unenjoyable even verging on tedious! BUT it is a great basis for developing self-control which can be carried over in to other areas of your life. So, with the nights getting lighter, you should get out there and commit to some sort of exercise, whether its a brisk walk, a jog with the dog or a game of tennis, it’s all beneficial and will help you accomplish your greater goals.
Do you love exercise, especially when the sun is out? Let us know why! Post your comments here.