15 minutes can make a difference!
Have you noticed how more and more celebrities tell they’ve moved from hard-core workouts to more gentle ways of exercise? New information on the health effects of physical activity has led to all the more people choosing a lighter and softer way to stay in motion.
Children need a lot of exercise, and naturally move along the day while they are playing. There are aspects in the way children move that we adults should learn some lessons from. Health-enhancing physical activity is different from exercise and training, and requires less effort than sweating breathless at the gym. Including both of them in your life is good for your health, but adding more physical activity to your day is a good place to start.
Any kind of motion and exercise that has positive effects to your health can be called health-enhancing physical activity. It might include physical strain at work, walks in the park, riding your bike to work, dancing or stretching. Having good aerobic fitness helps you feel better and stay active.
We’re not all top athletes, but we all want to stay healthy and active. New studies say this can be achieved with a small amount of exercise: adding even 15 minutes of light exercise to your day is beneficial to your health. Nevertheless, adults who are physically active for one or one and a half hours daily gain the most benefits. The more versatile our exercise is, the better we feel.
Exercise is proven to have several beneficial effects on our health, both physical and mental. Regular, moderate exercise is also proven to help prevent certain illnesses.
Some effects of health-enhancing physical activity can be seen immediately during exercise. Your heart rate rises, your breathing becomes more effective, the metabolism in your bones and joints speeds up, your muscles receive more oxygen and the blood circulation in your brain increases. This is why taking a walk outside makes you feel like your thoughts clear up, which makes walking meetings an excellent way to gather new ideas and suggestions at a workplace. Exercise breaks are also becoming more common at the workplace are an easy way to add that 15 minutes of exercise to your day. They also keep you alert and productive throughout your work day.
In addition to this, adding physical activity to your day improves the quality of your sleep. Moderate activity might have a positive affect on symptoms of sleeping disorders in just a couple of months. It’s definitely worth a try!
