Social Benefits Of Exercise Essay

While many merely consider the physical benefits of exercise when wondering why to exercise, there are mental benefits that are just as powerfully compelling. Exercise boosts your happiness and self-esteem, makes you smarter, and even allows you to create a healthy social life. It is interesting to notice that some of the main benefits of exercise are sometimes not what many think of as ‘tangible’. The emotional health of the average person positively soars after a bit of exercise. Working out increases the amount of certain chemicals such as norepinephrine, and this allows the brain to effectively handle stress. Exercising also releases endorphins, which are the natural, safe ‘happy drugs’ of the brain (Avnet) (Robinson). Studies have shown that exercise can treat moderate depression as well as, if not better than, medication. Endorphins

released by exercise are completely natural, and have no ill effects. Another emotional benefit is a logical result of the benefits already mentioned: increasing self-esteem (Robinson). The emotional benefits of exercising are compelling enough, but exercise also build up the brain. As stated above, exercise can not only boost emotional health— it also boosts one’s health in very tangible ways. The first, and maybe most noticeable of these ways would be that regular exercise can prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Working out raises the level of certain chemicals that prevent the decaying of the hippocampus, which is a part of the brain that organizes memory and learning. Another striking benefit of exercising is that it can actually expand your brain— and make one smarter. According to some studies, cardiovascular exercise can forge new brain
cells and boost decision making skills.

One cannot ask for a better reason to exercise than that (Avnet). The social benefits of exercising are probably the most overlooked benefit, but, nonetheless, they are a very real benefit. Exercising in public, at a gym, or in a class automatically shows others what one has in common with them. This simple bond alone can be enough to draw people together and find new friends. Friends who exercise together are proven to motivate one another and allow each other to exercise more. Getting one’s exercise by participating in a sport also creates bonds between people, and increases psychological health (Dupont). While those who exercise may look for non-social benefits, the social ones can turn out to be just as important. While these benefits may be overlooked, they certainly are not under-felt. Each mental benefit, be it emotional, solely cerebral, or social, are the reasons why the human race continues to exercise. No one would exercise if they gained no mental benefits from exercising. After all, if exercising didn’t trigger better self-esteem, would we ever even notice the physical

benefits?
Avnet, Lily. "13 Mental Health Benefits Of Exercise." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Mar. 2013. Web. 19 July 2015. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/27/mental-health-benefits-exercise_n_2956099.html Dupont, Doug. "Exercise Can Help Your Social Life." Breaking Muscle. Breaking Muscle, n.d. Web. 19 July 2015. http://breakingmuscle.com/health-medicine/exercise-can-help-your-social-life Robinson, Lawrence, Jeanne Segal, and Melinda Smith. "How Exercise Benefits Depression, Anxiety, and Stress." : Using Physical Activity to Improve Your Mental Health. HelpGuide.org, n.d. Web. 19 July 2015. http://www.helpguide.org/articles/exercise-fitness/emotional-benefits-of-exercise.htm