| Exercise
benefits
Physical exercise is important for maintaining physical fitness
and can contribute positively to maintaining a healthy weight; building
and maintaining healthy bone density, muscle strength, and joint
mobility; promoting physiological well-being; reducing surgical
risks; and strengthening the immune system.
Frequent and regular aerobic exercise has been shown to help prevent
or treat serious and life-threatening chronic conditions such as
high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, insomnia,
and depression. Strength training appears to have continuous energy-burning
effects that persist for about 24 hours after the training, though
they do not offer the same cardio vascular benefits of aerobic exercises.
Exercise can also increase energy and raise one's threshold for
pain.
There is conflicting evidence as to whether vigorous exercise (more
than 70% of VO2 Max) is more or less beneficial than moderate exercise
(40 to 70% of VO2 Max). Some studies have shown that vigorous exercise
executed by healthy individuals can effectively increase opioid
peptides (aka endorphins, a naturally occurring opiate that in conjunction
with other neurotransmitters is responsible for exercise induced
euphoria and has been shown to be addictive), positively influence
hormone production (i.e., increase testosterone and growth hormone)
benefits that are not as fully realized with moderate exercise.
Exercise has been shown to improve cognitive functioning via improvement
of hippocampus-dependent spatial learning, and enhancement of synaptic
plasticity and neurogenesis. In addition, physical activity has
been shown to be neuroprotective in many neurodegenerative and neuromuscular
diseases. Physical activity is thought to have other beneficial
effects related to cognition as it increases levels of nerve growth
factors, which support the survival and growth of a number of neuronal
cells.
Both aerobic and anaerobic exercise also work to increase the mechanical
efficiency of the heart by increasing cardiac volume (aerobic exercise),
or myocardial thickness (strength training, see Organ hypertrophy).
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