The benefits of staying active

Staying physically active is key to a long, healthy life. Regardless of your age, it’s important for both your body and your mind.

Regular exercise can reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer by 30%.¹ It also helps look after both your physical and mental health. Exercise has also been proven to improve your learning and judgment.²

You can exercise at any age, there is no limit, but there are different recommended minimum amounts of time for each age group. When exercising, your heart rate needs to be increased and you need to feel warm for it to be benefitting your health.²

If you struggle to get active, it might help to try different activities to find something you enjoy. Don’t compare yourself to other people, we are all different so if you don’t enjoy what your friends or colleagues do, that’s fine. It takes time and patience to find an exercise you can enjoy.³

When you get enough exercise in a week, it can significantly improve your physical health. Even light activity has health benefits.^4,5

Some of the main benefits of regularly exercising includes improving:

• Your blood pressure if you have a high blood pressure
• Your risk of cancer
• The risk of heart disease or heart attacks
• The risk of dementia and strokes
• The risk of osteoarthritis (inflammation in the joints)
• Your balance and coordination, especially as you age
• Your life expectancy
• Your risk of getting type 2 diabetes.^4,5,6

Without regular physical activity, you can increase your risk of developing health problems. Being sedentary or inactive most of time can lead to poor blood pressure and blood sugar control.

It can be difficult to add exercise into your routine especially if you have an office job or are not very mobile. But there are many ways that you can stay active. Try and find activities and times of the day that suit you so that you can heart rate up and your body moving.⁶

Some ways you can keep your body moving whilst being seated include:

• Lifting one foot off the floor at a time so you feel your tummy muscles tense, 5 times for each foot
• Stretching your leg out in front of you and pushing your big toe towards you so you feel a stretch in the back of your leg. Do it 5 times for each foot, twice
• Place each hand on your shoulders so your arms cross over your body and twist your torso to the left and hold for 5 seconds, repeat to the right. Do this 5 times.⁷

When you exercise your brain releases feel good hormones called endorphins. They help to improve your mood and help you relax.⁸

As a result, exercise can improve your mental health and wellbeing, especially by:

• Reducing stress
• Reducing symptoms of depression
• Boosting confidence
• Reducing symptoms of anxiety
• Boosting cognitive health
• Boosting quality of sleep.^2,3

The amount of exercise you need a week depends on your age. There are different recommendations for children and adults.