Importance of Exercise in Achieving a Healthy Body and Mind - Essay Example

Importance of Exercise in Achieving a Healthy Body and Mind s Submitted by s: Healthy Body and Mind Medicines concerned with the mind and the body originally came from China about four thousand years ago, when physicians identified illness, followed by spells of frustration, in the lives of their patients. In this era in the western societies, professionals who are in the medical field also have the view that emotions, varying events in life as well as skills needed for coping can strongly affect health. Medicine that is concerned with a healthy body and mind has been developed and incorporated into new fields, which are exciting such as psycho neuro-immunology as well as behavioral cardiology where psycho neuro-immunology is concerned with the relationship that exists between thoughts and emotions and brain chemistry as well as the immune system. On the other, behavioral cardiology is concerned with social and psychological factors that exist in the evaluation and reduction of cardiovascular risks. It is a vital area for several reasons that include reducing chronic heart attacks; assisting patients make quick recoveries as well as improving the support from the family. Importance of regular exercise in maintaining a healthy body and mind Exercise makes a person feel better, have more energy and can be very important in helping to promote the life of the person that is engaging in it and the exercise (Abernethy, 2013, p. 317). The advantages that are associated with exercise and physical activity that is done on a regular basis are hard to ignore. The benefits that associated with exercise are also easy to achieve regardless of age, sex, or the physical ability of an individual and they can greatly improve life. Exercise is important in preventing weight gain that is excess and it greatly helps in maintaining weight since when a person takes part in physical activities, there are calories that are burnt. More calories are burnt with the increase in intensity of the activity that an individual is taking part in and a person does not need to have too much time on their hands to achieve the advantages that associated with weight loss. There are many simple ways of getting exercise if a person is not in a position to get regular exercise, which include taking the stairs instead of the elevator or packing further so that one can take walks. Exercise helps to reduce the worry that an individual might have concerning heart disease and blood pressure and at the same time eliminates the risks that are associated with these conditions. Regardless of an individual’s weight, a high level of activity helps in boosting high-density lipoprotein, which is considered good cholesterol while significantly reducing the unhealthy triglycerides. Exercise assists in ensuring that blood is flowing smoothly and consequently decreases the risk of suffering cardiovascular diseases and it can also help to prevent and manage a broad array of health problems such as stroke, type II diabetes, arthritis, depression among other diseases. On the other hand, a lifestyle that is sedentary that involves long hours of inactivity and caloric intake that is not used may greatly contribute to suffering these conditions that are mainly considered to be associated with lifestyle. Exercise also plays a very important role in the event that a person needs an emotional lift or needs to cool off after a day that has been stressful since physical activity has a stimulating effect on the brain chemical, which leaves the person exercising feeling happier and relaxed. It also develops a good feeling about ones appearance while improving the confidence if the exercise is undertaken daily. A person who does not have exercise on a regular basis may have bad moods without really understanding the reason why and an increase in weight may make him or her lose some confidence since they may not be comfortable with the way they look. Regular exercise greatly helps in boosting the energy since it improves the strengths and greatly enhances endurance thus simple chores such as grocery shopping and common household chores will not be difficult to perform (Berman, 2013, p. 278). A person that does not get regular exercise may get tired by taking part in simple chores since a sedentary lifestyle will mean that the muscles of such people will not have developed endurance. Better sleeping patterns are also achieved through regular activities of exercise but it depends on the time that the exercise is done. This is because taking part in exercise too close to bedtime might make the person that is exercising too energized to fall asleep easily. Although a lot of people consider exercise to be a difficult endeavour that needs a lot of time seriousness, exercise in essence should be perceived as a fun way of spending time since it allows the person taking part in it to unwind and enjoy the activities that make an individual happy. Physical activity also helps an individual to make a connection with family as well as friends in a setting that is social in activities such as dancing and soccer (Compton, 2011, p. 259). Generally, physical activities and exercise are the perfect ways to get a good feeling, achieve health benefits and have fun at the same time and an individual should always aim to have at least half an hour of physical activity or exercise every single day (Khosla, 2006, p. 55). In case one wants to lose some weight and meet particular goals as far as fitness is concerned, then the person has to do more exercises and partake in activities that are more physical (Hyman, 2008, p. 14). It is important to consult the doctor before one takes up a new exercise regime especially for the people who have not taken part in exercise for a long time, those who suffer from recurring health issues like cardiovascular diseases or arthritis and those who have any kind of concerns (Phelps and Hassed, 2011, p. 77). Role of the state in ensuring that citizens get regular exercise Governments all over the world are faced with the question of how they can be able to get their citizens to exercise more and embrace more physical activity for the sake of their health (Pate and Buchner, 2014, p. 349). In the previous times, the governments have directed their efforts towards the treatment of the diseases that are associated with the sedentary lifestyles instead of their prevention (Macdonald, 2013, p. 35). This has changed and the recurring diseases have generated attention with the development that can be seen all over the world. Ageing is definitely expected but obesity can be reduced and prevented and therefore changes in behavior can have the effect of making people healthier regardless of their health (Pray and Pillsbury, 2011). This has been a serious issue to the point that the United Nations once dedicated a whole meeting of its general assembly to chronic disease that included the ones that are as a result of obesity but there was still some form of confusion over the limits that the state can go to in terms of dealing with the issue. The World Health Organization therefore decided to set a target that is aimed at reducing the chronic diseases by more than a quarter by the time it gets to 2025 and the different governments have to find their own ways of achieving this goal. Different countries have instigate different approaches that are aimed at helping their citizens live better lives through reducing weight and among them is the encouragement to take up exercising as a regular activity (Manore, Meyer and Thompson, 2009, p. 197). As an example, Abu Dhabi has come up with new urban planning rules that involve the slowing of traffic and making of pavements to be more conducive for pedestrians in an attempt to make the citizens healthier. Britain on the other hand has initiated a series of exercise programs that are tied to the Olympics and the most ambitious plan that is aimed at boosting exercise exists in Brazil. Here, each morning in Belo Horizonte, a group of women run around a basketball court and afterwards lift improvised weights in a program that has been christened the ‘healthy academy”. It is estimated that by the year 2015, free exercise classes of this kind will exist in more than 4,000 different places all over the country. Conclusion Regardless of the knowledge that people have showing the benefits that are associated with exercise, more than sixty percent of the people do not exercise on a regular basis and about twenty five percent of all the adults do not have any exercise at all. Many people have also started an exercise regime at one point or another but very few of them have been able to sustain and maintain it over a substantial duration (Rothbaum, Foa and Hembree, 2007, p. 73). This makes the process that is involved in developing and maintaining of habits that are healthy a vital aspect to consider the same way that the health effects associated with these studies are considered. The attempts that are directed towards appreciating the methods of promoting lifestyles that are more active are vital to the health of individuals as well as the nations they represent. Even though the studies about the determinants of physical activities as well as the interventions that are associated with it are still progressive, programs that are meant to increase physical activities are ongoing in different settings such as in schools and workplaces. Settling on the most efficient and cost effective approach towards intervention will prove to be a challenge in the future and therefore skilled leadership as well as institutions that support the efforts is needed to assist the community to become active. Bibliography Abernethy, B. 2013, Biophysical foundations of human movement, 1st ed, Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL. Berman, R. 2013, Boosting your metabolism, 1st ed, Wiley, New York. Compton, L. 2011, Jump start 7 & 8, 1st ed, Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne, Vic. Hyman, M. 2008, Ultrametabolism, 1st ed, Atria Books, New York, Khosla, S. 2006, Everymans guide to perfect health, 1st ed, Peacock Books, New Delhi. Macdonald, J. 2013, Primary Health Care, 1st ed, Taylor and Francis, Hoboken. Manore, M., Meyer, N. and Thompson, J. 2009, Sport nutrition for health and performance, 1st ed, Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL. Pate, R. and Buchner, D. 2014, Implementing physical activity strategies, 1st ed, Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL. Phelps, K. and Hassed, C. 2011, General practice, 1st ed. Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier, Sydney. Pray, L. and Pillsbury, L. 2011, Leveraging food technology for obesity prevention and reduction efforts, 1st ed, National Academies Press, Washington, D.C. Rothbaum, B., Foa, E. and Hembree, E. 2007, Reclaiming your life from a traumatic experience, 1st ed, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Read More