Exercise has been as old as human beings. People have been stretching and toning their bodies since the Stone Age, by various methods. In the bigger picture, exercise is usually related to health-related fitness. But there is strong evidence and research studies that suggest the role of exercise in the betterment of the environment as well. It could be a new idea to many people because we’ve heard a better environment leads to better health but better health can make a better environment as well. Keep reading and you’ll get the idea.
What is an exercise?
Any physical activity from walking to equipment-based workouts, performed to keep the body healthy and fit is known as exercise. There are many shapes and forms to exercise.
Why is exercise important?
Exercise is considered as a one-stop shop for almost every other health benefit. Let’s take a brief look at it, to find out what exercise has to offer.:
- Combats health-related diseases
- Maintains and decreases the weight- fight against obesity
- Improves mood and reduces stress
- Boosts energy
- Promotes better sleep
- Improves brain health and memory
How does it positively affect our environment?
Positive steps bring positive outcomes, and exercise is another name for positivity. Exercising will not only affect yourself and your body positively but will have a great impact on the environment and others’ well-being as well. How come? Let’s look at the following arguments to justify our statement.
1. Healthy and disease free environment
Healthy people make a healthy environment. Exercising is known to keep germs and many serious diseases at bay. People who exercise daily are less likely to catch diseases than people who exercise once in a blue mood or might not even do it. More exercise will result in fewer sick people and the environment will have a more healthy atmosphere to offer. Exercising daily can significantly reduce the risk of heart diseases, lung infections, and even cancer.
2. Reduction of carbon footprints
People who exercise more, are more active, and usually end up reducing the use of their cars or other carbon releasing machines. That’s how they contribute to the reduction of carbon release in the environment, eventually helping in reversing climate change.
3. Decrease in air pollution
To keep up with the routine of their physical activity, people use cycles to travel, rather than motor cars and bikes. Fewer cars mean less air pollution, and we can save our ozone layer from further depletion.
Another factor is people who exercise more get conscious about their eating choices as well. They avoid eating too much meat and increase the amount of vegan food in their routine. Studies show that the increasing number of animals around the world to meet the needs of people has contributed to air pollution. Animal waste releases harmful gases that pollute the air we breathe in. So, exercise can show its magic here as well.
4. Tolerance among communities
Exercise is known to produce endorphins in the human body, which are known as happy hormones. These happy hormones lift up the mood of people and lessen their stress levels. Studies revealed that people who exercise are expected to live a content life with less or no stress at all. A positive mindset and a happy mood in the community will increase the level of tolerance among people, and a significant decrease in hate crimes can be observed.
5. Increased productivity
Stress-free minds can perform better, right? So, when people perform better at their workplace, productivity will increase; an increase in productivity will increase the revenue of that state or country. That revenue can then be used for creating more spaces for people to perform physical activities. Hospitals can be filled with the latest technology as well to treat life threatening diseases. And the list goes on.
6. Decreased mortality rate
People who exercise can easily avoid and fight a number of health issues. Thus, the mortality rate decreases. Also, exercise act as an antidepressant and happy people do not get suicidal thoughts, so the suicidal rates in the societies also drop down.
7. Increased social interaction
If you look at the community park beside you, you’ll find people exercising in a group. Exercise brings people of every age group and gender together. People enjoy working out together and it’s a great way of becoming interactive and social with people around you. Older people often find themselves fighting loneliness, find friends in their exercise group, and look forward to meeting other people during their exercise sessions. The look and harmony of a community improve due to the exercise.
Conclusion
If you had the misconception that exercise can only improve your well-being, then we are sure it would’ve been clear by now. Our environment is our home and survival place and keeping it healthy safe-exercise play a crucial role. From working on individual levels to the community level, exercise does it all. So, what are you waiting for? If you are not an exercise person, you should start doing exercise asap. For yourself, for your environment.
I look up to fitness as a lifestyle and love to pen down about it. I have 2 years of experience in content writing and I am here to share my research and knowledge on health and fitness.
