The benefits of sports

The world has been through some harsh times due to the COVID-19 Pandemic with the lockdowns, the increased stress in our lives, worries and reduced socialization and exercise, that’s why it is now more important than ever to focus a bit on simple ways to improve our lives.

You don’t need to invest a lot of time in a healthy lifestyle as long as you can fit it comfortably in your life. Everything that becomes too much of hustle will eventually become a burden and will force you to quit. The key is to find a perfect balance that will only bring you joy and benefits.

It’s very easy in our modern lives to get a little bit distracted. There are many things to do and so little time. We find it harder and harder to combine all the chores, work and still have time for all the things we love.

When this happens it becomes a matter of priorities and some sectors are affected. Yes, it is perfectly fine to just want to sit and watch TV, socialize with friends or play casino online games but we often forget that our body needs just a little bit of exercise to keep going.

That’s exactly why below you will find a list of benefits to show you just how important a sport or some form of physical exercise is.

Helps manage weight

We all know that there is no magical way to strip the layers of fat from our bodies and make them vanish overnight with no effort but there are some ways to speed up the process in a very pleasing manner without too much hustle.

Sports can help you manage the weight by a multitude of benefits which combined can help you lose those pesky extra pounds. By improving the oxygen intake and blood circulation, by regulating the sleeping schedule and relieving stress, physical activity boosts your natural ability to burn fat.

The primary way in which exercise helps you lose or manage weight is through the decrease of calories stored. Gaining or losing weight is a simple sum between how many calories you eat and how much you consume throughout the day.

Depending on if you want to lose weight, just keep the one you have or even gain more muscle, the trainer can recommend different amounts of exercise but one thing is for sure, even a little amount can help a lot.

Stress relief

While it is almost impossible to completely eliminate the stress of day to day life, you can try to manage it through sport. According to many studies, physical exercise is one of the most recommended stress releasing answers according to health care professionals.

Regular exercise elevates the mood, fights depression and decreases overall levels of tension. Just five minutes of exercise a day can work wonders having anti-anxiety effects.

How does it work exactly? Well, first of all, exercise pumps up your endorphins. Any form of physical activity boosts the production of endorphins which are neurotransmitters. That’s why the process is referred to as “runner’s high”. If you put it in a simplistic manner, it is a healthy, natural drug that your body produces, that will help you live longer and better.

Improved sleep

You may ask how exactly different forms of exercise can improve your sleep. For many years, scientists didn’t fully understand how it works. As mentioned above, your brain releases endorphins, a natural pain killer but there is much more going on in our bodies as we exercise.

Physical activities raise your core temperature. By raising your core temperature in the morning is a great way to start your day because that sends the whole body a message that is time to wake up. The opposite is also true as after about 60 to 90 minutes when the core temperature starts to drop, the body gets the message that it is time to prepare for a nice, resting sleep.

Whether you do it in the morning to get an energy boost for the day or close to bedtime to benefit your sleep, any form of sport is a great way to improve your life quality.

You may ask just how much exercise you need to sleep better. While there is no straight response to that since people have different bodies that react in different ways to physical exercise, doctors suggest in general at least 30 minutes of moderate activity in a day to improve your sleep that same night.

Reduced blood pressure

Everybody knows that a healthy lifestyle improves the physical condition and boosts the immune system but what is less known is that exercise is a drug-free approach to reduce blood pressure. Physical activity and exercise improve blood circulation and the ability to use oxygen.

The risk of hypertension (high blood pressure) increases with age but just a little bit of exercise can make a huge difference. Sports improve circulation by making the heart muscles stronger, therefore able to pump blood faster and better.

Only 30 minutes of exercise a day can lower your blood pressure by an average of 4 to 9 mm Hg which is equivalent to many blood pressure drugs.

Any form of sport or physical activity that increases your heart and breathing is great and can include simple things like mowing the lawn, gardening, raking leaves and other household chores, even climbing the stairs can count.

Increase Your Chances of Living Longer

Sport boosts your energy, it strengthens your immunity, decreasing the risk of illness, it helps you sleep better and also improves your self-image. Make both your body and mind a temple as you find the perfect balance.

Scientists discovered that a balanced lifestyle where exercise is regularly included in our schedule can easily increase our lifespan by 15-20 years. It’s even better when you are doing it with your beloved ones or friends as a form of socializing and bonding, increasing even further the benefits of physical activities in our lives.

We are yet far from discovering all the benefits of sports on our bodies and minds but we know that we can live longer and better. The best part is that you don’t actually have to be a professional athlete to reap the benefits and each one of us can squeeze a couple of minutes a day in our busy lives.