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A light body and a mobile mind, protection from depression, prolongation of youth and improvement in the quality of life – these are by no means all the bonuses that physical activity brings us. Medical facts and scientific arguments.
Regular physical activity and a healthy lifestyle help us gain approximately 14 additional years of life*. Medicine is constantly providing new evidence of the benefits of exercise: fewer heart attacks, osteoporosis, arthrosis and diabetes. Physical activity also helps protect against certain types of cancer (breast, brain) and prevent up to 50% of recurrences. “Movement directly stimulates the immune system,” explains clinical psychiatry professor David Servan-Schreiber. “It balances the influence of hormones such as insulin and insulin-like growth factors, which accelerate the development of cancer and fat cells. In addition, playing sports helps to reduce fat mass, which is the zone of accumulation of all carcinogenic toxins.
Improve brain function
Movement becomes a new need, the satisfaction of which directly affects the quality of our life. Regular physical activity improves cognitive (related to cognition) functions in men and women aged 55 to 80**. “Exercise increases the number of neurons in the hippocampus, a key area of the brain responsible for the quality of our memory,” says Martine Duclos, head of sports medicine at the University Center of Clermont-Ferrand (France). – With age (or in the case of chronic stress), the activity of this area of the brain decreases, which means that memory weakens. Movement in adulthood can stop the seemingly inexorable loss of neurons.”
The main thing is not to remain passive in the face of the prospect of brain aging: no matter what age we start exercising, after three months of moderate-intensity exercise (for example, cycling or an exercise bike, walking or swimming), changes for the better are found in the state of the brain *** . Similar studies are being conducted for Alzheimer’s disease. According to preliminary data, three-quarters of an hour of moderate physical activity can reduce the development of some manifestations of this disease by a third ****.
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Strengthens health
Properly selected physical activity is an extremely important condition for maintaining joint mobility. Regular exercise ensures good blood supply and proper nutrition of tissues, making it possible for them to recover. “Recreational sport is the best prevention of osteoporosis,” says Ashot Mkrtumyan, expert of the No to Osteoporosis! In addition, fitness will help to form a reliable corset of muscle tissue, that is, to avoid many problems with the musculoskeletal system in the future.”
“Maintaining muscle tone (or increasing muscle mass) can also protect you from type XNUMX diabetes,” says endocrinologist Jean-Frédéric Brun. – Muscles consume a lot of energy by burning triglycerides (fats that circulate in the blood). Thus, the share of useful cholesterol increases and, consequently, the work of the cardiovascular system improves.
Move to pleasure
Physical activity helps fight depression, recalls psychiatrist David Servan-Schreiber.
“One of the consequences of prolonged physical activity is the ability, at least for a while, to suspend the continuous stream of obsessive thoughts, worries and anxieties. After twenty to thirty minutes of physical exercise, we have positive, and even creative thoughts. This effect – an increase in mood as a result of exercise – is due to the fact that it affects the blood supply and causes hormonal surges that have a stimulating effect on the psyche. Prolonged physical effort contributes to the release of endorphins, and in general, any physical activity stimulates the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter necessary in order to feel pleasure. That is why physical education is a kind of antidepressant, and it lasts longer than drugs. Worries, of course, do not disappear anywhere, it’s just that after physical exertion we treat them differently, more detached. It is only important to engage in those types of exercises that give us joy.
D.S.-Sh.
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The silhouette changes shape
The more intense the exercise, the more calories burned. Muscles consume more energy – even at night! This process is called resting energy expenditure. “So any increase in muscle mass allows you to burn fat and improve your figure,” explains Irina Zinchenko, five-time world fitness champion, lead trainer at the Palestra Sport fitness center. – This does not mean weight loss (since the muscles have a significant mass), but it radically changes the silhouette. Resuming their natural fusiform shape, trained muscles improve the shape of the legs, redefine the waist and buttocks. Visible loose fat deposits disappear.” The obvious benefit lies in the newfound elasticity of the skin: physical exercises saturate it with oxygen and promote microcirculation of fluids in the deep layers of tissues. Blood flow and lymph outflow are improved: on the one hand, this means good cell nutrition, on the other hand, timely and complete release from metabolites (metabolic products) and toxins. The skin becomes elastic and acquires an even healthy color.
Life gets better
Studies show that regular physical activity can improve the quality of life by 50%.***** Conversely, for those who stop moving, life satisfaction plummets. The same goes for stress: while people’s sensitivity to stress varies, physical activity significantly reduces stress levels. The more active we are, the less often we are overcome by a state of anxiety and the less intense it is – this is a fact. Movement is an exceptionally effective lever for influencing one’s own emotional state.
* PLoS Medicine, 2008, vol. 5, № 1.
** S. Colcombe «Fitness effects on the cognitive function of older adults: a meta-analytic study». Psychological Science, 2003, vol. 14, № 2.
*** S. Colcombe, K. Erickson, P. Scalf etc. «Aerobic exercise training increases brain volume in aging humans». The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 2006, vol. 61A, № 11.
**** Archives of Internal Medicine, 2006, vol. 166, № 10.
***** Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 2004, vol. 15, № 2.