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October 5, 2024
The secret has been revealed, regular exercise helps slow aging. While it is no secret that exercise is good for you, recent research points to just how true this can be, by possibly extending and improving your life.
- Exercise helps boost immunity
As we get older, our immune system response gradually declines, leaving us more susceptible to illness and infections. This because our body stops producing as many immune cells as we age. However, recent studies have shown that regular physical activity helps the immune system produce sufficient immune cells to fight off germs.
- Exercise reduces the risk of osteoporosis
With age, our bone strength and density declines, and just how much of a decline directly depends on how physically active we are throughout our lifespan. By participating in weight-bearing activities, like walking, jogging, or lifting weights, can help slow down bone loss and could even stimulate bone growth.
- Exercise helps maintain cognitive function
Overtime, our brain function starts to decline and our risk for neurological conditions, like dementia, become higher. Exercise improves blood flow to the brain, reduces inflammation, and enhances synaptic activity, or in other words, our physical and verbal response to information. Altogether, exercise directly improves memory and learning and the brain’s function as a whole.
- Exercise reduces the risk of chronic disease
Exercise directly reduces the risk for a multitude of chronic diseases. These include cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cancers. However, this does not mean that exercise is only beneficial for people without chronic conditions. As cleared by a medical professional, exercise can help reduce symptoms of present chronic diseases and lower the overall effects as well.
- Exercise improves mobility and balance
Regular exercise strengthens muscles, improves overall flexibility, and helps with physical balance across the lifespan. This will help reduce the risks for falls and potential injuries that are experienced by many older adults.
So, who should be exercising?
Regular physical activity provides both immediate and long-term benefits to health which is why it is important to exercise regularly across the lifespan. However, if you have not been participating in regular physical activity, you might consider speaking with your healthcare provider about the potential risks of benefits of starting an exercise program.