Physical benefits of exercise
Routinely engaging in exercise and movement can help your body in lots of different ways.
- Improving the health of your heart and blood vessels. This can reduce the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease.
- Maintaining coordination and balance. Exercises that involve moving different parts of your body in different directions help with this.
- Improving blood supply and nutrients to the brain. This can help thinking skills and memory.
- Reducing the risk of stroke, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer.
- Improving your physical fitness. Maintaining strong muscles and flexible joints can help you do things for yourself. This includes dressing, cleaning and cooking.
- Improving hand-eye coordination. This is the way that your hands and eyesight work together for some tasks. Such as when eating, tying laces or hitting a ball while playing tennis.
- Helping to keep bones strong and reducing the risk of osteoporosis. This is a disease that makes bones weaker and more likely to break.
- Improving sleep quality and energy levels.
- For some people, reducing the risk of falls by improving strength and balance.
Psychological benefits of exercise
Exercise might also have a positive impact on your mental health.
- Improving mental abilities. Some studies have shown that exercise might improve focus and attention.
- Giving you more confidence and higher self-esteem.
- Providing opportunities to meet and talk with others. This can help you maintain your sense of identity and prevent you from feeling isolated.
- Improving your mood and symptoms of depression.
