Dr. David Crawford is a man who I admire greatly and he is someone who’s talks and speeches I am always keen to watch. Dr. Crawford talks abut a wide range of subjects but one area which he focuses on quite a lot is that of exercise and physical health. We all know that we should do exercise but not many of us understand the true power of what exercise can do for our bodies and our lives. Dr. Crawford was recently speaking about this at a medical convention and during his speech he revealed that exercise offers far more benefits than we thought possible.
Feeling Good
That buzz which you get after a workout or doing some exercise is caused by a chemical in the body called endorphins. These are considered feel-good chemicals and they are released by the brain when we exercise. It is for this reason why many people with mental health issues are encouraged to exercise, not as a cure of course, but as a way to feel better about themselves and it can actually form part of treatments.
Fitness
The benefit which we all know about is fitness and what this can do to our bodies. If you are regularly exercising then you can better manage your weight, you can strengthen the body and you will also add flexibility to your muscles. This not only helps in the now, but it will also help you in later life in terms of being more mobile for longer, and staving off disease.
Heart Health
If not managed correctly our hearts can be ticking time bombs and much of this comes down to what we eat and how much we exercise. Heart attacks are very common and much of this is as a result of people not taking good care of their bodies. The heavier you are or the worse that you eat, the more pressure which you will be putting on the functions of the heart. For a healthy heart and a longer life, regular exercise is the answer.
Brain Health
Something which Dr. Crawford spoke at length about was something which not many people realize, and that is the impact of exercise on our brains. Believe it or not our brains can massively benefit from regular exercise, and not just because of those feel good chemicals. When we exercise and feel more confident in our body’s, we increase our capacity for brain function and this results in a higher ability to focus, to concentrate, to plan, organize and to deal with stress. Remember that stress doesn’t always get higher or lower but our mechanisms to cope with it do. When you exercise regularly you may not minimize your stress levels, but you will increase your ability to deal with life’s stresses.
Dr. Crawford really knows his stuff around exercise and this is why he is so qualified to speak on the range of benefits, if you aren’t exercising regularly, perhaps its time that you started.
