Exercise is one of the best ways to reduce stress, improve your mood and sleep, and increase your overall happiness. But exercise has even greater power than just physical benefits: it's also a powerful tool for transformation. It can help you lose weight, build muscle mass, decrease anxiety or depression symptoms — even increase your libido (yes, really!). Here are five ways that regular workouts can help transform your body — both on the inside and out.
The power of fitness is more than just physical.
The benefits of exercise are not limited to the physical. Exercise can help you sleep better, reduce stress and anxiety, improve your mood, keep immunity up so that you don't get sick as often (or at all), improve focus and cognition--and even reduce the risk of developing coronary heart disease or having a stroke.
To get started with this powerful tool for transformation in your life: find an activity that interests you! Try something new every week until something sticks for good; then stick with it for at least three months before changing things up again.
The body and mind are connected.
In order to transform your body, you need to understand how the mind and body are connected. The brain is the control center for all of our bodily functions--from breathing to digestion to heart rate. It controls these things by sending electrical signals through the nervous system into your muscles and organs, which then respond with movement or other reactions like sweating or crying.
Similarly, when we exercise our muscles get bigger because they're being exercised so much that they grow larger so they can handle more work in the future (this is called "hypertrophy"). But this isn't just a physical change; it also affects how we think about ourselves because now we feel stronger and healthier! This feeling has been shown time after time in studies where people who start exercising end up feeling better about themselves overall--and this includes even those who aren't necessarily trying to lose weight but rather just improve their health overall with regular workouts.
Fitness can help you sleep better.
If you have trouble sleeping, exercise can help. In fact, several studies have shown that people who engage in regular physical activity report better sleep quality than those who don't.
In one study of adults 65 years or older with insomnia (a common condition characterized by difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep), participants were assigned to either a three-month program of aerobic exercise classes or no intervention. The results showed an improvement in sleep quality for those who participated in the exercise program compared to those who did not participate in any intervention at all.
Another study examined how aerobic exercise affects older adults' total amount of time spent sleeping at night as well as their ability to fall asleep quickly when they needed it most--during daytime naps. After twelve weeks of moderate-intensity aerobic training sessions twice per week, participants had an average increase in total nightly sleep time from 5 hours and 43 minutes before beginning their training regimen up until 6 hours and 12 minutes after completing it!
It's easier to lose weight when you're active.
While it's true that you can lose weight through diet alone, exercise is an important part of the equation. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found that people who exercised burned up to 200 more calories per day than those who didn't work out at all. That adds up to an extra pound lost per month!
It's also worth noting that what you eat matters just as much as how much--if not more so. The USDA recommends aiming for about 1 g protein per kilogram of body weight (2.2 pounds) each day; 0 g fat; and 50-55% carbs from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains (the rest should come from starchy foods like beans). It's also recommended that adults get between 7-9 hours of sleep every night for optimal health benefits--including weight loss! And don't forget about drinking plenty of water throughout the day: it helps keep your metabolism running smoothly while keeping hunger pangs at bay so they won't sabotage any progress toward reaching your goals!
Exercise reduces stress, which helps your emotional health, too.
Stress is bad for your mental health. It can lead to anxiety and depression, and make it harder to sleep. Exercise can help reduce stress in several ways:
- It gives you an outlet for pent-up energy. If you're feeling stressed out, exercise will give you a way to burn off some of that excess energy before it builds up into something worse than just feeling nervous or anxious about things.
- It helps combat anxiety by releasing endorphins (hormones produced by the body during exercise). These feel-good chemicals have been shown to improve moods and relieve symptoms of depression by lifting spirits during workouts, too!
- Regular physical activity improves the overall quality of sleep--which means better rest at night when we're getting our eight hours per night on average--so we wake up feeling refreshed instead of groggy from lackadaisical slumbering habits (or lack thereof).
Exercise can help alleviate mental health issues like depression or anxiety.
Exercise can help alleviate mental health issues like depression or anxiety. Exercise has been shown to improve sleep quality, which can be one of the first signs of depression. In addition, exercise releases endorphins that make you feel less stressed and anxious about your life. The endorphins also boost your confidence levels by making you feel good about yourself! When we're in better shape physically, our minds follow suit--which means more positive attitudes toward ourselves and others around us
Exercise also boosts your self-esteem and confidence levels by making you feel good about yourself! When we're in better shape physically, our minds follow suit—which means more positive attitudes toward ourselves and others around us.
Conclusion
We hope that this article has convinced you of the power of fitness. We know it can be difficult to get started, but the benefits are worth it! If you're looking for tips on how to start exercising or ways to make exercise fun, check out our other articles on this topic here at The Muse. Good luck with your new habit!
