Over the past decades, there has been a steady increase in the workload of employees. In the multi-tasking world of the 21st century, Every person is expected to be some sort of super being who can manage to function on very little to no sleep in order to perform in the global community. Somehow, we have been able to find a way to function in such a manner; combining our work, social, home life, and other duties within a 24-hour time frame. This is well and good for most people and I applaud the people who can do this. However, such accomplishments come at a great price to most people. The price that these people pay? In exchange for using the human body in a manner that we would use say a gym treadmill, our physical health and fitness status suffers a tremendous blow. The human body is like a car that we use every day. It requires daily maintenance and checkups in order to continue serving the purpose that we use it for. By neglecting to keep ourselves physically fit and healthy, we neglect our body maintenance and pay the price once we get sick.
As mentioned above, the world now relies on 24 hours of activities in order to keep our lives running. This leads to a stressful condition for the mind and body. Our physical and mental health is directly affected by the stress that exists in our daily lives. Having said that, it is important to note that such constant pressure on the body and mind will create a negative impact on our bodies health-wise. This is why medical professionals suggest daily exercise routines in order to help us find a balance of stress and release in our daily lives.
Having acknowledged this problem, we now see an influx of personal fitness-based stress management techniques that transitions the negative effect of stress in our lives into a positive one. This positive effect is achieved by encouraging the body to produce and release endorphins, adrenaline, and dopamine during the exercise process. It has been scientifically proven that these “sense of well-being” chemicals within the body are released during significant amounts of exercise periods. In a way, these chemicals help the mind to relax. Of course, everyone knows that a relaxed mind is a stress-free mind and leads to more effective performance in the workplace.
But these chemical reactions do not reach all the way into the physical aspect of our body, the muscles. Therefore, physical exercise, specifically cardiovascular regimens encourages our muscles to relax and release tension. There are also times when people who have irregular sleeping patterns report that exercising corrects their sleeping problems. Therefore, we can say and believe that by catering to the needs of one’s health and fitness, we can see and feel a change occurring within ourselves both physically and mentally.
Further evidence of the positive effects of physical conditioning has also shown that 30-45 minutes of aerobic exercise on a daily basis provides the most effective physical and mental benefits for the exerciser. On average, people who exercise as little as 3 times a week regularly tend to live about 2 years more than those who do not exercise at all in their daily lives. There are also documented reports that by simply keeping up a regular aerobic exercise routine, most illnesses such as high blood pressure and cholesterol problems can be placed under control without the need for maintenance medication.
Most people, myself included, agree that there seems to be an integrated effect between exercise, psychological, physical, and an overall sense of well-being. Therefore, we can conclude and be persuaded to believe that exercising has a long-term positive effect on our lives. People who exercise have been proven to live longer, more productive lives.
Fitness is the best weapon we have in our quest to fight aging and premature death. I have to point out that one does not necessarily have to do a formal exercise regimen in order to keep fit and healthy. Little changes in our daily physical activity can also encourage the same fitness effects that exercising does. Simply washing the car is equivalent to a heavy 30-minute cardiovascular workout that will benefit our heart and brain by forcing our body to pump and produce more oxygen for various body parts that work hard during the activity.
At the end of it all, there are simply no negative effects on our body once we take care of our health and fitness. Nobody has ever died from not exercising, but there have been deaths due to inactivity and obesity, and nobody wants to become a death statistic under that heading. So go ahead, get off your cushy seat, and strap on the sneakers. It’s time to exercise.
Work Cited
- “Even Light Exercise Aids Health“. BBC News. 2007. Web.
- Hatfield, Mark. Strength Training For Muscle Development. London: PRC Publishing / Greenwich Editions, 2005.
- Landers, Daniel M. “The Influence Of Exercise On Mental Health“. The PCPFS Research Digest. Series 2 No. 12. (N.A.) 20 pars. 2008. Web.