The Scientific Benefits of Exercise
Live Longer
33% lower risk of all-cause mortality
Significantly lower risk of developing several commonly occurring cancers
Lower risk of several other cancers including: Bladder, Breast, Colon (proximal and distal), Endometrium, Esophagus (adenocarcinoma), Kidney, Lung, and Stomach (cardia and non-cardia adenocarcinoma)
Greatly reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular disease or developing cardiovascular disease, including heart attack, stroke, and heart failure (2 of the leading causes of death in the United States)
Strong scientific evidence shows that physical activity protects against heart disease, the leading cause of death in people with type 2 diabetes, and can reduce risk of death by 30 to 40 percent
Improve Mental Health
Immediate reduced feelings of anxiety (short-term) and improved aspects of cognitive function
Improvements in trait anxiety (long-term anxiety) and components of executive function (including the ability to plan and organize; monitor, inhibit, or facilitate behaviors; initiate tasks; and control emotions
Reduced risk of developing depression in children and adults
improvement of many depressive symptoms
Improvements in cognition, including performance on academic achievement tests and neuropsychological tests, such as those involving mental processing speed, memory, and executive function
Lowered risk of developing cognitive impairment (e.g. dementia) including Alzheimer’s disease.
Sleep Better
Improved sleep time and deep sleep
Reduced sleep latency (taking less time to fall asleep)
improved sleep efficiency (higher percentage of time in bed actually sleeping)
Significantly less daytime sleepiness
Reduced frequency of sleep-aid medication use
All these improvements in sleep with regular physical activity are also reported by people with insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea
General Health
More time spent in sedentary behavior increases risk of: All-cause mortality; Cardiovascular disease mortality; Cardiovascular disease; Type 2 diabetes; and Cancer of the colon, endometrium, and lung
Sedentary behavior includes sitting (think: leisure-time, occupational, and total), TV viewing or screen time, and low levels of movement
Improvements are present for people who have normal as well as impaired cognitive health, including conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke.
Potential specific benefits include:
Parkinson’s disease—Improved physical function, including walking, balance, muscle strength, and disease-specific motor scores
Multiple sclerosis—Improved physical function, including walking speed and endurance, and fitness. Physical activity does not appear to exacerbate multiple sclerosis
Spinal cord injury—Improved walking function, wheelchair skills, muscular strength, and upper extremity function. Benefits can be seen with recent or older injuries and across severities of spinal cord injury
Stroke—Improved walking function, such as walking velocity or endurance.
Studies show that the frequent decline in bone density that happens during aging can be slowed with regular physical activity.
Regular physical activity also helps people with osteoarthritis or other rheumatic conditions affecting the joints
Physically active people, especially women, have a lower risk of hip fracture than inactive people do.
Among older adults, physical activity reduces both the risk of falling and injuries from falls.
Some Physical Activity Is Better Than None
Even low amounts of physical activity reduce the risk of all-cause mortality
A large benefit occurs when a person moves from being inactive to being insufficiently active.
The relative risk of all-cause mortality continues to decline as people become even more physically active
Physically active people with all body weights (normal weight, overweight, obesity) have lower risk of all-cause mortality than inactive people.
All adults can gain these health benefits of physical activity, no matter their age, sex, race, or ethnicity.
Significantly lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than inactive adults