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31 May 2008 06:08 AM

Exercise Benefits the Whole Person

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

We talk about the benefits of doing something, we often focus on one or two things about it that creates a benefit. For example, why get a job? To pay the bills would likely be the answer most of us give. Yet when we get a job that we enjoy or are successful at, we receive more than just a weekly paycheck. We may receive benefits such as health insurance and access to a fitness program. We receive self-esteem and personal pride. We receive the capability to achieve goals and more.

The same can be said for physical exercise. It's important to maintain your fitness and health. Regular exercise also contributes to maintaining your weight, building healthy muscle, bones and joint flexibility. Exercise also helps us feel better about ourselves, strengthens our immune system and can actually help improve cognitive function and creativity.

I'd say that's a lot more than one benefit most people are so concentrated on: battling obesity. Exercise benefits the brain. The brain benefits the body. The more I exercise, the better I do overall - not just in my health, but in my diet choices during the day, during my sleeping at night and when I am working or trying to be creative. Exercise benefits the whole person, not just one part of it.

Exercise Benefits the Brain

If you were wondering how exercise benefits the brain specifically:

• Increases the flow of oxygen enriched blood to the brain
• Increases growth factors that create new nerve cells
• Promotes synaptic plasticity
• Promotes cognition by increasing dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin to the brain

So the question isn't really what exercise can do for you, but why don't you exercise more? Exercise does so much for a person and it benefits the whole person. How does exercise benefit you?

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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