Stress can be life threatening if left unchecked for years.

When you get stressed, your body goes into overdrive, releasing your fight-or-flight hormones. While these can be great during times of need (like when a house is on fire), if these hormones constantly flood your body, you are slowly but surely wearing yourself out.

The solution?

Exercise.

Here are 4 ways in which getting up and getting active can alleviate the harmful effects of stress.

1. RELEASE THOSE FEEL GOOD CHEMICALS

The benefit you’ll experience immediately upon exercising involves your mood and how you feel.

Have you ever wrapped up a workout and noticed how much better you felt?

You might have even become more social and chatty.

That’s not a coincidence.

Exercise releases endorphins, which are feel good chemicals in the brain. The more consistent you are in your patterns of physical activity, the more you’ll see your mood and mindset improve. Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean hitting the gym every day. Simply walking outside for 30 to 40 minutes each day will have the same effect.

2. CARDIOMETABOLIC HEALTH

Think about the last time you went to the doctor for a checkup.

How well did you do?

Did the doctor have a disappointed look when he saw your numbers for cholesterol, blood pressure, heart rate?

If you need to improve your cardiometabolic health, stressing yourself isn’t the way to do it. The strain from stress will increase your numbers across the board.

Exercise, on the other hand, has a direct and positive effect on the numbers that get checked during each physical while stress has been shown to do just the opposite.

3. BODY IMAGE AND SELF-ESTEEM

How you see yourself directly impacts your self-esteem but also your stress levels.

If you are unhappy with your health and body composition, you’ll be more apt to feel stressed about it.

Exercise will not only improve how your body looks but it’ll also boost how you feel. As we mentioned above, exercise releases endorphins. Imagine a daily supply of feel good chemicals in addition to watching your body, strength, and mind improve.

4. BOOSTS ABILITY TO DO EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES

This may not seem like much at first but think about it:

How do you feel when you’re not physically able to do something such as carrying in groceries, playing with the kids, or keeping up with your jogging buddies?

You feel frustrated. That frustration leads to stress.

Exercise allows you the ability to do MORE in life.

Increasing your strength, power, and endurance through exercise will open up a number of doors that may have been closed before.

Most importantly, consistent exercise safeguards you for when you’re older. Elderly people are more at risk for falls, strains, and breaks. Exercise is a way to build up your body so you can enjoy life and not feel helpless in old age.

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!

How does exercise help you?

How has it changed your life?

Tell us about it in the comments section!