Need a Lift? Get Moving!

Samantha Chang of the Improper.com (www.theimproper.com) shares her secret for enhancing mood--and improving your health.

What if I told you there was a sure-fire way to enhance your mood, lift your spirits and improve your overall health? It's as plain as the nose on your...well...you get the idea. It's exercise!

Nothing--and I mean nothing--instantly improves my mood and outlook like a quick run or a brisk walk outdoors. Despite the overwhelming evidence that exercise produces feel-good endorphins, releases muscle tension, helps you sleep better and reduces stress, many people continue to ignore the irrefutable health benefits of working out.

Instead, we've become a nation addicted to the "quick fix" of caffeinated drinks and ineffective supplements that promise to reduce stress. In the end, these quick fixes only drain you emotionally and financially. So if you want a proven method for energizing your body and your spirit, get off the couch and get moving.

Check out why regular exercise will not only add years to your life, but life to your years:

(1) Exercise improves mental agility. Countless medical studies indicate that people who work out regularly have better memory, reaction time and concentration than couch potatoes. They also stand a much better chance of avoiding age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s and senility.

(2) Slows the aging process. Did you know that regular exercise can actually make you more aerobically fit as you get older? Working out also improves skin and muscle tone, increases flexibility and reduces the risk osteoporosis, heart disease and stroke. So what are you waiting for?

(3) Puts the sizzle back in your sex life. It’s a fact: Regular exercise can increase sexual drive, activity and satisfaction. Being fit improves sexual functioning and jump-starts the sympathetic nervous system, which increases blood flow to the genital area. In fact, even low levels of exercise help keep you functioning properly; brisk walks three times a week can put the fire back in your bedroom.

(4) Boosts your immune system. Study after study has concluded that regular exercise stimulates your immune system, which can protect you from infectious diseases like the common cold.

As if these reasons weren't enough, remember that exercise makes you look good, which makes you feel good. So stop making excuses, and get a move on.

By Samantha Chang, Executive Editor of TheImproper.com.

http://theimproper.com/Template_Article.aspx?IssueId=3&ArticleId=1123

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