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The Top 10 Benefits of Regular Exercise

Have You Exercised Today? Check This Out

Exercise is defined as any movement that makes your muscles work and requires your body to burn calories.

There are many types of physical activity, including swimming, running, jogging, walking, and dancing, to name a few.

Being active has been shown to have many health benefits, both physically and mentally. It may even help you live longer (1Trusted Source).

Here are the top 10 ways regular exercise benefits your body and brain.

1. It can make you feel happier
Exercise has been shown to improve your mood and decrease feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress (2Trusted Source).

It produces changes in the parts of the brain that regulate stress and anxiety. It can also increase brain sensitivity for the hormones serotonin and norepinephrine, which relieve feelings of depression (3Trusted Source).

Additionally, exercise can increase the production of endorphins, which are known to help produce positive feelings and reduce the perception of pain (Trusted Source3Trusted Source).

Furthermore, exercise has been shown to reduce stress and improve symptoms of anxiety (3Trusted Source).

Interestingly, it doesn’t matter how intense your workout is. It seems that your mood can benefit from exercise no matter the intensity of the physical activity.

In fact, a study in 24 women who had been diagnosed with depression showed that exercise of any intensity significantly decreased feelings of depression (4Trusted Source).

The effects of exercise on mood are so powerful that choosing to exercise (or not) even makes a difference over short periods.

One review of 19 studies found that active people who stopped exercising regularly experienced significant increases in symptoms of depression and anxiety, even after only a few weeks