In today’s society, we don’t need to be as physically active as before. Fitness isn’t a detrimental necessity for survival or thriving but more like recreation and a privilege. You can get away with not moving at all as our environment is creating more and more opportunities to move less and less. Despite the dilemma, there are still many reasons why exercise is important and why you should do it.

Why Exercise Is Important

Flashback to gym class. You’re there with your friends and the teacher is making you do stuff you don’t really like. Run around the stadium for miles, bear crawls across the field, climb the rope, box jumps etc. Sweat is pouring down your face – it’s incredibly uncomfortable and you wonder what did you do to deserve this one. That’s how it was back at school.

I think almost everyone understands the importance of exercise, at least to a certain extent. But what it actually entails and whether or not you’re going to do it depends on your own situation.

Exercise is any type of physical movement done for the sake of being physically active. Walking can be seen as such, if you do it for the purpose of moving around. Hiking, swimming, lifting weights, playing sports for fun are all included to this.

Why exercise is important? Because it lays the foundation to healthy living but also has other life-enhancing benefits.

Here are the most profound ones.

Helps prevent cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes and obesity[i]. These are all afflictions of affluence caused by abundant access to infinite amounts of calories and lack of physical movement.

Improves longevity and the quality of life[ii]. It prevents aging by reducing inflammation[iii]. Exercising in middle age improves your physical ability in elderhood as well.

Reduces blood pressure, LDL cholesterol and body fat (the bad), but increases HDL cholesterol, insulin sensitivity and exercise tolerance (the good) [iv].

Not enough physical activity contributes to 17% of heart disease and diabetes, 12% of falling in the elderly (they fall off stairs or what) and 10% of breast and colon cancer[v]. Researchers have also found that heart attack patients who exercised reduced their death rate by 20-25%[vi].

Physical exercise is correlated with a lower methylation frequency of two tumor suppressor genes: CACNA2D3 and L3MBTL[vii], which are associated with gastric and breast cancer, brain tumors and hematological malignancies. This means that fitness improves your genes and DNA, which will be carried on to your children as well. Do you want to leave an inheritance of disease or health?

What’s more, exercise is associated with reduced all-cause cancer mortality[viii].

The bottom-line is this: Exercise is the necessary dose of movement that’s needed for the body to maintain it’s healthy functioning. But it’s useful for not being only adequately fit but can also be an empowering tool that improves upon the quality of your life in everything you do.

Why Exercise is Wise

Physical exercise improves cognitive function through a host of different mechanisms[ix], starting from increased neuroplasticity[x], protection against neurodegenerative disease[xi] and greater grey matter volume in the pre-frontal cortex and hippocampus[xii].

There is a ton of evidence showing that physical activity and fitness can benefit both health and academic performance for children[xiii]. Even just one single session of exercise can enhance focus and memory[xiv]. This may be explained by the beneficial effects of movement on brain health.

In one study, children who had walked on a treadmill for 20 minutes at a moderate pace, answered questions regarding reading, spelling and arithmetic with greater accuracy and had a more intense response within the brain, than children who had been sitting[xv]. They also had better reading comprehension and completed learning tasks faster and more accurately after exercise.

why exercise is wise

These are but a few examples of how physical movement can be thought of as a cognitive enhancing drug. Exercise is wise (puns) because it literally makes you smarter. Intelligence is mostly a matter of information processing and if getting your heart rate up regularly can help your cerebellum to retain knowledge, then why not use it as a tool for enhanced working memory performance[xvi].

Why Exercise Makes You Happy

Aerobic exercise is also a great antidepressant and euphoric agent [xvii], that causes the notorious runner’s high[xviii]. It’s a blissful state, also known as flow, that’s meant to motivate you to repeat evolutionarily advantageous behavior.

The reason why there’s so much consistency on improved cognition and mood is that exercise increases a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). It supports existing neurons and enhances the growth of new ones[xix].

A recent meta-analysis of 29 studies[xx] (n=1,111 participants) on BDNF levels in different exercise paradigms showed

A single session of exercise increased BDNF moderately

Regular exercise intensified the effect of a single session on BDNF levels

Resting BDNF levels also increased slightly after regular exercise

There are also great mood enhancing and self-esteem improving benefits[xxi]. Exercise improves the physical and psychological quality of your life. It can prevent and combat depression as well[xxii], which makes it a potent drug for almost everything. A sedentary lifestyle is positively correlated with anxiety disorders and symptoms[xxiii].

Exercise and Sleep

Physical activity may help you achieve more and better sleep[xxiv]. It can also be a good way to battle insomnia and a great alternative for sleeping pills[xxv].

In one study about exercise and insomnia, a single session of moderate-intensity aerobic movement, such as walking, made insomniacs fall asleep faster and increased the length of their shut-eye[xxvi]. However, high-intensity aerobic exercise, like sprinting, or moderate-intensity resistance training don’t seem to do so in the same subjects[xxvii].

A 2010 review of published studies concluded that exercise generally improves sleep[xxviii]. They also suggest that the optimum time to exercise may be 4 to 8 hours before bedtime. Any time of the day is beneficial really, but the endorphin high and adrenalin rush you get can keep you up at night. Heavy resistance training a few hours before going to bed will definitely disturb your sleep.

In order to take care of your body and be effectively restful, you have to first be dreadful, if that makes sense. Your physiology needs to be active and actually yearns for it. It’s something that’s meant to be a part of our daily practice. Stagnation implies to death, whereas movement is the essence of life.

Too Much Exercise

Now, don’t think that the more you exercise, the more benefits you’re going to get. What makes a poison deadly is the dosage and even too much of the good stuff can be bad for you.

Extremely intense long-term cardiovascular exercise, such as done by athletes who train for multiple marathons, causes scarring of the heart tissue and abnormal heart rhythm[xxix][xxx].

The biggest danger is overtraining, in which your body can’t recover properly between exercise sessions because of too much intensity or volume. Your muscles and central nervous system are still damaged but you still go out to train, which stops the repair processes and causes even more damage on top of the already existing stress. This will down-regulate your hormones and can cause adrenal fatigue, which will lead to total burnout and you becoming a complete wreck. One sign of overtraining is a suppressed immune system. If you’re pushing yourself hard but can’t seem to lose that snot or cold, then you might be doing too much. Exercise should make you stronger and healthier, not the other way around.

Exercising for Longevity

The biggest reason why exercise is important is that it will make you live longer. Physical movement improves cardiovascular health and protects against most ailments. Next to food, it’s one of the greatest preventative drugs for disease out there.

How much should you exercise to live longer?

One study found that people who didn’t exercise at all were most likely to die early[xxxi]. Those who moved a little but less than 150 minutes per week lowered their risk of doing so by 20%. The ones who did moderate intensity walking 150 minutes per week we’re 31% less likely to experience premature death compared with the ones who never exercised. However, if the people moved for 450 minutes per week (slightly more than an hour a day) did so by 39%.

Another study found that too much strenuous physical activity (like face in the dirt every day) contributes to premature death[xxxii], but occasional high intensity exercise can significantly reduce the risk of it. Those who spent 30% of their weekly exercise time doing intense activities were 9% less likely to die sooner compared to people who exercised as long but did so moderately. The hard HIIT-ers also gained an extra 13% reduction in early mortality.

What’s the takeaway? Is 150 minutes per week enough? It is if you want to live “just enough” and flip it right after retirement but exercise should be thought of as an anti-aging agent that expands on your existing youthfulness.

Exercise and Anti-Aging

Muscle loss, or sarcopenia, is being more and more considered as one of the most important aspects of aging. It’s not just a side-effect of disease and frailty but also its main cause. You get older and degrade physically because your tissue gets damaged by free radicals.

In a study, mice who had been genetically modified to produce less free radicals lived 20% longer than normal ones[xxxiii]. The researchers found that the reason for this is calcium, which is released to make our muscles contract. Free radicals damage ryanodine receptor 1, which is the molecule that triggers this release, and causes calcium leakages in aging rodents, leading to the atrophy of muscle fibers. The mutant mice were stronger and chose to run an extra kilometer a day in their exercise wheels. This suggests that being physically active makes you want to move more and be less sedentary.

The role of mitochondria in the aging process is quite noteworthy. They are the power plants of our cells that help us to produce energy. Oxidative stress and free radicals damage the mitochondria, which cause cellular death, brain degeneration and sarcopenia. If you aren’t capable of producing nuclear fusion within you, then you won’t have the desire nor the ability to exercise and will slowly waste away.

Why Exercise is Important for Anti-Aging and the Mitochondria

So what’s the solution? You have to increase your mitochondrial density through an anti-inflammatory fat burning diet and an exercise routine that incorporates both low intensity aerobic activity and high intensity resistance training. This will improve your health, cognition, mood, strength and all the other stuff that enhance your life.

Exercise for Fun and Life-Enhancement

Lastly, there not always be a reason to move your body. Exercise in the modern world is seemingly unimportant, but it should be thought of as a privilege instead. We don’t have to be fit just to make ends meet but can choose fitness as a recreational activity that we enjoy.

Being physically active is fun. It’s not supposed to be dreadful or something to just get over with. You have this amazing body that adapts to almost anything and has found a solution to almost any problem within its biology. We can run, sprint, jump, crawl, swim, climb and do many more complex movement patterns. You either use it or lose it.

But no matter how much you hit the gym or run on a treadmill, you will never achieve your desired results if you continue to eat whatever. Nutrition is a lot more important for health and longevity. Simply put, you can’t out-exercise a bad diet.

Food is the greatest drug there is and you have to have a solid nutritional plan. Your body is your temple and the vessel you use to tread this world with. It starts on the cellular level. Don’t eat stuff that damage your mitochondria and cause free radical damage. In the end, you’ll be glad you didn’t.

Where to Go From Here

Before you start exercising, you would also want to check out about a video about the different exercise myths and false-narratives surrounding this topic. Don’t be clueless and do whatever because you’ll be doing more harm than good.

If you want to follow a meal plan that promotes mitochondrial density, cardiovascular health, neurogenesis and longevity then I advise you to look into the ketogenic diet. I’ve also created a 21 day program called Ultimate Keto that teaches you all about ketosis and what you need to eat in what amounts.

Stay Empowered

Siim

References

[i] http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM200007063430103

[ii] https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.maturitas.2012.09.012

[iii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3320801/

[iv] http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/107/1/e2.full

[v] http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127525702

[vi] http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/107/1/e2.full

[vii]http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijc.24231/abstract;jsessionid=49F53687EEE5D68F22BB14574F3D07EC.f03t04

[viii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3465697/

[ix] https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.cobeha.2015.01.005

[x] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3951958/

[xi] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4507374/

[xii] http://www.neurobiologyofaging.org/article/S0197-4580(14)00349-2/fulltext

[xiii] http://activelivingresearch.org/sites/default/files/ALR_Brief_ActiveEducation_Jan2015.pdf

[xiv] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12595152

[xv] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19356688

[xvi] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22879047

[xvii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18604371

[xviii] http://cercor.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/11/2523

[xix] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2758233/

[xx] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4314337/

[xxi] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3809922/

[xxii] http://www.psy-journal.com/article/S0165-1781(15)30772-1/abstract

[xxiii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4474345/

[xxiv] http://ajl.sagepub.com/content/4/6/500.abstract

[xxv] http://limmatsharks.com/Sport+Schlaf/3.pdf

[xxvi] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22019457

[xxvii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2883039/

[xxviii] http://ajl.sagepub.com/content/4/6/500.abstract

[xxix] https://dx.doi.org/10.1093%2Feurheartj%2Fehn163

[xxx] https://dx.doi.org/10.1161%2FCIRCULATIONAHA.110.938282

[xxxi] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25844730

[xxxii] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25844730

[xxxiii] http://science.sciencemag.org/content/308/5730/1909