The Benefits of Exercising

Alexia Daviduk

As we all know, exercising is very beneficial for our physical health. It helps us stay active, can help us lose weight, and become stronger. But, there are a lot more benefits to exercising regularly than just the physical benefits. Staying active on a regular basis can improve your mental health, improve joint issues, improves brain function in all age groups and help with stress, anxiety, and depression. Exercise has also been linked to helping with Alzeimer’s disease. Staying active has even been proven to help people get over nicotine addictions.

Pretty crazy, right?

And the good news is that there is a form of exercise out there for everybody. Something as simple as walking your dog every day, riding your bike, stretching, and doing yoga are all great forms of exercise. Hiking, rock climbing, skiing, swimming, even learning a new tik tok dance can not only be fun, but another way you could exercise! The list is endless.

Mandy Oaklander, an editor of Time Magazine, digs deeper into the mental health benefits of exercise. She states, “It’s linked to less depression, better memory and quicker learning. Studies also suggest that exercise is, as of now, the best way to prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, a major fear for many Americans.” In her Time Magazine article, she talks to Cedric Bryant, chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, where he says, “For years we focused almost exclusively on the physical benefits of exercise and really have ignored the psychological and emotional benefits of being regularly active”.  Oaklander mentions that through countless studies on many types of exercise, staying active has helped people feel better.

Marissa Iapicca, a lifelong best friend of mine, is a softball and soccer player. She also spends her weekends skiing at Mount Sunapee and water skiing all summer long at Lake Sunapee. Marissa has been playing soccer for 14 years and softball for seven years. She also learned how to ski when she was six years old. Marissa states that exercising regularly “helps me stay fit, and like, be motivated to go and be outside and with my friends more. It also just gets you involved with a lot more things, like new sports and new activities, along with meeting new people. Being involved in these sports, it has made me feel more confident in who I am”. 

We can all still stay active now, even in the freezing cold temperatures. Snowboarding and skiing at our favorite mountains up north, such as Mt. Sunapee, Loon Mountain, and Bretton woods are all fun winter activities. Ice Skating is another fun thing to do to stay active in the winter, and there are ice rinks in Exeter and Portsmouth, NH. Snowshoeing is a great option as well, and places like Lake Massabesic in Auburn, NH and Odiorne Point in Rye, NH offer multiple snowshoeing trails, according to New Hampshire Magazine. 

Exercising has so many benefits, and has helped lots of people with their overall physical and mental health and even their confidence.