Top Reasons to Get Moving

1. Lift your mood. Exercise relieves anxiety and depression in men and women of all ages. In college students, recreational fitness activities relieve stress-related symptoms.
 

2. Protect your heart. Exercise increases the supply of oxygen to the heart by expanding existing arteries and creating tiny new blood vessels. It may also prevent blood clots from forming.

3. Sleep better. Exercise helps people fall asleep faster, sleep longer, and sleep better, possibly by relaxing muscles or reducing stress.
 

4. Cut colon cancer risk. Active people have lower rates of colon cancer, possibly because exercise increases the rate at which waste moves through the colon.
 

5. Lower blood pressure. If your blood pressure isn't high, exercise will keep it that way. If it is, regular exercise can lower it.
 

6. Get strong. Exercise increases the circulation of blood in the muscles, so they become firmer, function more smoothly, and are capable of withstanding more strain.
 

7. Lower the risk of gallstones. In women (who are more likely to develop gallstones than men), exercise greatly reduces the incidence of gallstones and the need for surgery to remove them.
 

8. Burn calories. Exercise helps speed up metabolism, build more lean body mass, and prevent obesity.
 

9. Strengthen your bones. Exercise, especially strength training, increases bone density and prevents osteoporosis.
 

10. Put more life in your years—and possibly more years in your life. Physical activity slows the aging process, so you remain healthier and more active for a longer time. If you work out often and vigorously enough, you can actually extend your life span.

Source: Based on Roizen, Michael. RealAge: Are You as Young as You Can Be? New York: HarperCollins, 2000 - Invitation to Fitness and Wellness - Dianne Hales & Charleen Zartman