A prescription for cardio may be just what you need! Have you ever noticed how low energy you feel after a long sit down on the couch? After a long while mosts’ brains start feeling a bit drained. That’s the importance of exercise. When most think of exercise it’s usually this new abs or waist routine you try to keep up for a more desired body, but exercise doesn’t just help your figure, it’s also connected to your mind! There are many health statistics regarding exercise. The following are among the most interesting. 

Walking an extra 4000 steps for middle aged adults showed a 50% reduction in mortality! Its also known to boosts your immune function. Even those who started walking 20 minutes, 5 days a week had almost 43% fewer sick days than those walking once a week. 50% is a crazy margin but it makes sense. When they did get sick it was found to be a fewer duration. 

Apparently walking every day may ease anxiety and depression. While you walk your body releases endorphins that help boost your mood. Cardio is among the best ways to boost your mood. It’s no wonder why dancing is so popular. Dancing is a great way to incorporate cardio each week. Just 20 minutes of dancing to a few of your favorite songs could boost your mood.

It’s funny since we walk quite a lot everyday. It’s a gradual difference but as we become less active it shows with our mood. Summer depression may actually be common for this reason. During the summer it’s more common to find yourself chilling on the couch. After a while becoming low energy is more common. “I think exercising is really good for mental health. After exercising you could even feel accomplished” says Noelle Wu (11).

“Those in the top 25 percent of all physical activity (both moderate and vigorous-intensity), had an average reduction in risk of heart disease between 48 and 57 percent.” We sometimes take exercise for granted laying it off as just a way to lose weight- in reality it’s so much more! From improving brain function and easing anxiety to a greatly reduced mortality, getting the right amount of steps each day could do so much more for us. It quite literally has the power of a prescription drug! Treat it as a dose of free medicine! Even if it’s just investing 20 minutes a day, those few can run far.