August 25, 2019
Did you know that staying active is one of the best things you can do for your health? According to the American Heart Association, too much sitting and other sedentary activities can increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. One study showed that adults who watch more than four hours of television a day had an 80% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Improving your health is just one reason why it’s important to start incorporating regular exercise into your weekly routine.
1. Exercise Helps You Live Longer
In order to have a long and healthy life, exercise is necessary. People who are active have a lower chance of being obese. Being overweight can cause a lot of health issues. That's why staying active, especially as your body ages, can help prevent a lot of illnesses that are associated with aging.
2. Improve Your Mental Health
It’s true that exercise helps benefit you physically, but it also helps improve your mental health. Regular physical activity can boost your mood and relieve stress. How does it do this? When you are exercising, your brain releases chemicals like serotonin and endorphins. These chemicals help boost mood levels and make stress levels decrease. So if you find yourself needing a mental health boost, then start incorporating more exercise into your schedule!
3. Decrease Chance of Health Issues in the Future
Being active and staying active is important if you want to decrease your chances of having health issues in the future. There are so many benefits your body receives when you keep it in motion regularly. These include lowering blood pressure, improving circulation, etc. It is good for all parts of the body when you consistently add exercise to your routine. You can even do some exercises when you are at work. You can use a stability ball as your chair and do arm circles and leg lifts. You can also walk around while you’re on conference calls. Even if you have a desk job, you can still incorporate these small exercises to your work day.
4. Get the Family Involved
If you’ve already started to make the change to a more active lifestyle, get your family involved as well. Not only will it help keep you motivated, it’s important for children to learn to be active early on in life. They can get in the habit of exercising at a young age with your help. After dinner, you can suggest to take a stroll around the neighborhood with the family. You can even plan weekly trips to the park with fun activities like frisbee, kickball, and more. Getting other people involved is important because you are more likely to keep up the habit of being active if you have other people on the journey with you.
5. Gain More Confidence
Exercising regularly can help you lose weight and stay in shape. This is a great way to boost your confidence. You can set a healthy weight goal for yourself and strive to meet that goal with a fun exercise routine. Staying active will boost both your mental and physical health.
If you have questions about getting active and how it can help your health, schedule an appointment with your Ascension Network primary care provider to discuss which exercise options are best for you.
If you're enrolled for an Ascension SmartHealth medical plan during your benefits enrollment, you can participate in the Gridiron Challenge! The challenge begins Aug. 19. Do not just stand on the sidelines. The goal is to take 150 minutes a week for six weeks, to move your body. That is a total of 900 exercise minutes. Even if you do not make the all-star squad, you will feel better and have more energy. You might even add some years to your life! Log on to www.myascension-wellness.org to join in. The challenge ends Sept. 29.
