Monday, April 25, 2011

Why exercise?

Most of us seem to fall in to one of two camps: you either love exercise and do it willingly, or else you hate it and do it grudgingly.  I fall somewhere in between the two.  I used to hate exercise.  I did it because I had to, and only when I had to.  It was a means to lose weight, that's about it.
In the last year or so, I've finally come to view exercise as something different: it's a stress reliever.  I don't think most of us realize this. 
Exercise serves many purposes.  Yes, it can help you to lose weight, or maintain a weight loss.  But it has an even greater purpose: your mind.  See, exercise increases blood flow everywhere, especially to your brain.  The more blood flows to your brain, the better your brain can work. 
It's that simple.
They've done many studies on this.  One recent study by the National Institute of Health has recently released a study that shows a connection between exercise and lower rates of Dementia.  Dr. John Medina has written an entire book on how the brain works, and devotes an entire chapter of to exercise and movement.
Exercise also helps to relieve stress.  And yes, I realize many of us connect exercise with adding more stress, but the fact is, getting up and moving around will actually help to lower your stress level.  For me, it's become what keeps me sane (or saner, according to my husband). 
So here's my challenge to you (because exercise does not need to be horrible and painful), take a walk. That's it.  Take a walk, once a day for 20 min.  Or twice a day for 10.  Or four times a day for 5.  You get the picture.  Get up and move!  You may just come back with a great new idea.

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