In this assignment, I will be describing the benefits of exercise in the short and long term on physical, social and mental health including the benefits of exercise for each life stage; children, adolescence, adulthood and old age.
I will also be describing how exercise can be integrated into daily living and also include three labelled diagrams to show the physical effects of exercise on an individual’s health. Describe the benefits of exercise in the short and long term on physical, social and mental health. In what ways is exercise good for the body? The word “ exercise” may make everyone think of running laps around the playground or going to the gym. But exercise can include a wide range of activities that boost your activity level to help everyone feel better and improve mood.
Certainly running, lifting weights, playing basketball and other fitness activities that get your heart pumping can help. But so can gardening, washing the car, or strolling around the block and other less intense activities. What is Physical health? Physical health is the smooth functioning of various physiological systems of the body. A person should be fit to do all their routine work without any difficulty. They must possess normal body weight, good vision, healthy skin, proper dental conditions, good neuro-muscular coordination, etc. Exercise improves cardiac output and strength, increasing lung capacity which allows oxygen to circulate round the body more effectively.
This supports the metabolic processes and improves cell and inter-cell nourishment. Exercise reduces cholesterol levels, increases blood supply to the muscles and reduces body fat, which is utilized during energetic activities. Bone strength and flexibility are improved by weight-bearing activity. Improvements in blood supply to the heart and brain can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Exercise increase the ability to remove toxins and waste products, and improves immune system function, reducing the likelihood of illness.
Exercise is really important for the body because if you don’t use your body, your muscles will become flabby and weak. Exercise can prevent your heart and lungs from not functioning effectively, causing heart disease and stiff joints and easily injured causing it to break. Exercise benefits every part of the body, including the mind. Exercising causes the body to produce endorphins, chemicals that can help a person to feel more peaceful and happy. It can also help some people who have mild depression and low self-esteem to increase their skills.
Plus, exercise can give people a real sense of accomplishment and pride at having achieved a certain goal — for example like beating an old time in the 100-meter dash. Helps Prevent Diseases Our bodies are meant to move – the body actually craves for exercise. Regular exercise is necessary for physical fitness and good health. It reduces the risk of heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes and other diseases.
It can improve your appearance and delay the aging process. Exercise can improve Stamina because when you exercise, your body uses energy to keep it going. Aerobic exercise involves continuous and rhythmic physical motion, such as walking and bicycling. It improves your stamina by training your body to become more efficient and use less energy for the same amount of work. Your conditioning level improves your heart rate and breathing rate return to resting levels much sooner from exhausting activity.
Exercising strengthens and tones your body. Exercising with weights and other forms of resistance training develops your muscles, bones and ligaments for increased strength and endurance. Your posture can be improved, and your muscles become more firm and toned making you feel better, as well as look better, too. Enhances Flexibility Stretching exercises are also important for good posture.
They keep your body flexible so that you can bend, reach and twist. Improving your flexibility through exercise reduces the chance of injury and improves balance and coordination. If you have stiff, tense areas, such as the upper back or neck, performing specific stretches can help “ loosen” those muscles, helping you feel more relaxed. Exercise controls weight as exercise is a key to weight control because Exercise can help prevent excess weight gain or help maintain weight loss.
When you engage in physical activity, you burn calories. The more intense the activity, the more calories you burn. If you can’t do an actual workout, get more active throughout the day in simple ways — by taking the stairs instead of the elevator or revving up your household chores. What is mental health? Mental health is concerned with balanced state of mind.
A person must be free from stress, tensions, conflicts, confusions, depression, etc. A person must posse’s problem solving attitude, he should be able to think about right or wrong, etc. Exercise improves the sense of well-being and mental health for two reasons: it improves blood supply to the brain and it provides oxygen. The brain responds by releasing ‘ feel-good’ chemicals (endorphins) which enhance mood and counteract the effects of stress. Mental alertness is the ability to concentrate for extended periods on complex tasks, and included cognitive functions (e. g.
problem-solving, memory, awareness and quick thinking). Mental health is an aspect that makes exercise important for people. Exercise distracts and relaxes you because in your exercise, you are discharging many feelings and stress. Many people feel that all their problems and pressure of their lifestyles disappears or at least forgotten for a while when they do exercise.
While exercising problems in your lives can be solved easier because you are calm and relaxed which makes it easier to think clearly. Doctors are encouraged to prescribe exercise programmes as a first line treatment for mild depression instead of medication; they also prescribe exercise for obese patients. Exercise can also enhance self-esteem and confidence: low self-esteem is a factor in poor mental health. Exercise also affects your mental health positively as it releases chemicals into your brain that relaxes and lessens mental fatigue.
Exercise also presents an opportunity for increased social activity, improves sleep and increases an individual’s motivation. Increase in exercise also improves a person’s appetite enabling nutrients and increased blood flow to the brain, which nourishes and improves your mental health. Exercise improves quality of life, once you begin to exercise regularly, you will know the quality of life and know how important exercise is. Exercise reduces stress, lifts moods, and helps you sleep better. It can keep you looking and feeling younger throughout your entire life.
Women are especially prone to a condition called osteoporosis (a weakening of the bones) as they get older. Weight-bearing exercises, like jumping, running or brisk walking, can help keep bones strong. What is a Social health? Social is concerned with the adjustment of an individual within the society. a person is considered to be socially healthy if he is able to adjust himself/herself among the people of difficult religion, region, status, etc. If an individual is not socially healthy, he/she may develop inferiority complex among themselves.
These are social benefits to exercise, particularly through team sports. Friendship networks are developed, reducing the loneliness and isolation that can lead to depression. Exercise can also increase self-confidence through weight loss, improved posture and physique, and better skin and hair. These effects can motivate individuals to socialize more and widen their circle of friends. Motivation – the conscious or unconscious reasons why people do things – is an important concept in relation to health behaviour.
Without motivation, changes to lifestyle or diet do not occur. The social aspect of health is helped with exercise because many of the sports are or can be made with someone else. This makes stronger relationships because you meet people that are like you and share the same things. This makes you feel more secure and learn about human relationships.
Childhood The amount of physical activity children do in their life has a huge impact on their physical, social and mental health. It is important that children are keeping physically, mentally and socially active because when children are moving around then there body are working throughout their day which can reduce the risk of them developing certain diseases later in life and help maintain a healthy and fit, help them sleep better and develop social skills. Physical healthThe short term benefits of physical activities are that it can increase bone mineral density in children which helps to maintain strong bone. Building stronger bones for children is really important and beneficial later in life because during childhood, adolescence and early adulthood, when the skeleton is growing, it is vitally important to maximise bone strength. By children ‘ banking’ plenty of bone in there early years, it puts the skeleton in a better position to withstand the bone loss that occurs with advancing age. Strong bones are essential for long-term health and well-being.
Building strong bones is to lower children’s chances of developing osteoporosis in later life. Osteoporosis is the fragile bone disease that causes painful, disabling fractures later in life. Children can build strong bones by taking plenty of weight-bearing exercise such as everyday movement and eating a well-balanced, calcium-rich diet. It takes calcium to build strong bones and is especially important during the early years, when bones are growing their fastest which they can’t make up for later in life.
Having a calcium-rich diet when you’re young makes a big difference in health, now and later. Cells called osteoblasts bring calcium into bones of the children’s which makes them stronger. Exercise increases the rate of the osteoblasts and by children’s body continually removing and replacing small amounts of calcium from the bones. If more calcium is removed than is replaced, bones will become weaker and have a greater chance of breaking.
Some researchers believe that the rise in forearm fractures in children is due to decreased bone mass, which may result because children are drinking less milk and more soda and are getting less physical activity. Researchers have shown last year that bones are strengthens mostly when they are regularly exercised. Last year the government said that nearly three quarters of 72% of children not take part of hours of daily activity outside school. Children should achieve a total of least 60 minutes of intensity of physical activity each day.
Only 22% children do some exercise after eat evening meal. Children should exercise at least twice a week to improve their bone health, muscle strength and flexibility and to prevent any future disease such as obesity which could lead to other dangers. The long term benefit of exercise on children is that helps the brain to function better and improve memory. Exercising is an important key to keeping children’s body in shape.
Aerobic activities such as swimming, walking increase blood flow to the brain and help keep children’s thinking sharp, their stress levels down, and depression. Exercise improves blood flow, it’s important to keep blood, oxygen and glucose flowing constantly through the brain. Aerobic activity like walking is an effective way to increase the flow of nutrients and oxygen throughout their entire body. When they’re walking, running, swimming or doing some other aerobic exercise, they’re also effectively oxygenating your brain. Aerobic activity increases breathing and heart rates, which gives them more energy and improves memory function. Children exercising 3-4 times a week has been proven to strengthen the heart, lungs, reduce the risk of many diseases including heart, disease, stroke and cancer and improve the brain function.
There are ways to improve memory and brain function through physical exercise. Scientists have shown that exercise improves the brain’s decision-making function. These brain functions help children in their everyday situations, such as remembering a person’s name. Exercise is also likely to increase the amount and efficiency of blood flow to the brain, therefore supplying more oxygen to the area.
Exercise protects children from Age-Related diseases. Physical exercise can keep their brain healthy with age and prevent diseases such as dementia. The aging circulatory system can reduce the blood supply to the neurons, creating cognitive deficits such as a decline in executive function.