Exercise can add 7 years to your life! Harvard Medical School: 5 benefits of improving memory and sleep

We all know the reasons to develop an exercise habit: to stay healthy, lose weight, and prevent disease. A report from the Mayo Clinic in the United States pointed out that people who have exercise habits can increase their life expectancy by 7 years. Harvard experts say that exercise has a lot of benefits, including regulating stress hormones, improving memory, improving pain and sleep, and other five benefits. The question is, why does it bring so many benefits?

At Harvard medical expert Belle. Dr. Pava's newly published book "Super Stress Relief BMW Mind and Body Self-therapy" mentions that the six major benefits of exercise include:

Exercise Benefit 1: Regulating Stress Hormones

One way to reduce the amount of cortisol your body produces is to exercise more. When the body goes into fight-or-flight mode, it produces an excess of stress hormones, which help us escape from danger faster. Studies show that when people exercise, their cortisol levels temporarily increase but then return to normal. People who have the habit of exercising have lower cortisol levels. Studies show that people who exercise regularly are more adaptable and resilient when faced with stress. Because their body systems work together to effectively regulate stress hormones.

Benefit 2 of exercise: Improve memory

Exercise makes your brain grow, while stress shrinks it. When you exercise, your body produces more neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, norepinephrine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). These chemicals are the basis of memory, learning and mood, and enhance our cognitive abilities. If you face stress for a long time, your thinking and senses will become dull.

Many researchers have pointed out that exercise can improve memory and concentration. Many schools in Europe allow students to exercise during breaks. Teachers have noticed that when children stretch during breaks, even for just ten to fifteen minutes at a time, their academic performance improves and their scores on cognitive ability tests improve. Therefore, we should increase the number of hours of physical education classes.

Many researchers have pointed out that exercise can improve memory and concentration.

For people with chronic pain, practicing deep breathing more often will help them feel better and reduce the pain.

If you exercise regularly, your brain will secrete more specific proteins, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor. As we age, production of this protein decreases, but it is essential for the growth and repair of brain cells. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor is very important because it allows the brain to form new neural pathways. If you exercise, your body will supply more blood to the brain, and the level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor will also increase.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor also has a significant impact on cognitive ability. The hippocampus is responsible for storing long-term memory and learning, and it contains a large amount of brain-derived neurotrophic factor. This particular protein is also responsible for regulating hunger signals, thereby suppressing appetite. Scientists are looking for ways to boost brain-derived neurotrophic factor to help control body weight. In short, when this protein level increases, our cognitive abilities will improve, our mood will become happier, and our weight will not be excessive. Therefore, we need to exercise harder to obtain brain-derived neurotrophic factor and stay young.

Benefit 3 of exercise: Improve pain

Using new imaging equipment, researchers can observe how endorphins interact with the brain. They confirmed that endorphins increase after exercise. This natural pain reliever acts like a built-in anesthetic in the body, helping to repair body tissues and inducing an extremely pleasant mood. That’s why people who like running like this “runner’s pleasure”. There are at least twenty types of endorphins, but it remains difficult to measure their activity. They are secreted by the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and spinal cord, but their receptors are found throughout the brain. That is why the joy and happiness it generates are so enormous.

A good game of tennis, a few laps in the pool, sex, a good belly laugh, and dancing can all release endorphins, just like running. In addition, static activities such as meditation, acupuncture, massage and even deep breathing can also increase endorphin levels. For people with chronic pain, practicing deep breathing more often will help them feel better and reduce the pain.

Studies have shown that regular aerobic exercise can make your body and mind less tense, your heart calmer and your sleep quality better.

Benefit 4 of exercise: Improve mood and sleep

Exercise can make us feel better, more energetic and optimistic, and increase our self-confidence. Exercise can also relieve stress and alleviate depression. Depressed people have low serotonin levels, but studies have shown that exercise can increase serotonin secretion. Exercise also reduces the levels of cortisol and adrenaline in the blood, reducing their effects on the brain.

People who exercise have more normal immune systems, less inflammation in the body, and are less likely to fall into depression. If you are in a bad mood, your sleep quality will be poor. Exercise also helps restore your biological clock to normal. As long as you get good quality sleep, your body will release restorative hormones.

Exercise, like meditation, can help us deal with daily stress without feeling tense or irritated. Studies have shown that regular aerobic exercise can make your body and mind less tense, your heart calmer and your sleep quality better. Even just five minutes of aerobic exercise can have a slight anti-anxiety effect. For those who do not have the patience to sit in meditation, you can add breathing exercises to aerobic exercise, which can also have a good healing effect.

Benefit 5 of exercise: Avoid inflammation

Scientific research has confirmed that endorphins secreted during exercise can effectively reduce inflammation in the body. Brain inflammation may lead to Alzheimer's disease and depression, which is why exercise is so important.

A report from the Mayo Clinic in the United States pointed out that people who have exercise habits can increase their life expectancy by seven years. Exercise has numerous benefits, such as controlling high blood pressure and diabetes, and preventing Alzheimer's disease. These diseases can cause inflammation in the body, which can damage the brain. No matter what chronic disease you have, exercise is the best treatment. Exercise can lower bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol, which can help keep your heart healthier. Best of all, this miracle drug is very cheap. Try taking the stairs on your way to work, or taking an extra walk in the park when walking your dog.

As long as we exercise more, oxygen-rich blood will be infused into every cell in the body and help us excrete toxins from various tissues and organs.

in conclusion

In ancient times, exercise was used to obtain food and escape from wild beasts, but now it is an indispensable part of human life, used to adapt to the ever-changing external environment. The benefits of exercise are well known, including improving the body's oxygenation, improving heart function and strengthening bones. For people with chronic diseases, more exercise can reduce the cortisol in the body. In the past, we have underestimated the positive impact of exercise on the brain, which can improve mood and enhance memory. Nowadays we are more aware that people who like sports are more resilient and can cope with stress. Doing some intense exercise occasionally will help the various systems in the body cooperate more closely and oxygenation will occur more frequently. That way, whether it's illness, injury, or a bad mood, the body will be able to deal with it. Exercise can improve sleep quality and boost the immune system.

Deep in everyone's heart, they actually desire to live a comfortable and safe life, so they choose the easiest way to live. Fortunately, we can develop a positive attitude towards exercise, identify the source of our unconscious behavior, and try to correct our concepts and ideas. We can use our imagination to picture a healthier and stronger version of ourselves in our minds. We can use some life skills, such as the five-second rule, to encourage ourselves to make up our minds and follow through. We can also use our body's inherent muscle memory to trigger neural pathways that promote physical movement.

The phenomenon of "use it or lose it" has been confirmed by scientists. As long as we exercise more, oxygen-rich blood will be infused into every cell in the body and help us excrete toxins from various tissues and organs. When you exercise, your heart rate increases and your muscles work harder, so your heart won't block its own blood vessels. Our skeletal muscles become stronger and more flexible as a result, because otherwise they would atrophy and be unable to support our skeleton. Remember, only by engaging in physical activity can your body and mind remain healthy and you have the resilience to face stress.