If one spend over 7 hours per day in a seated or lying down position (excluding time spent sleeping), one is considered to be sedentary. If one lives a sedentary lifestyle, one have a higher chance of being overweight, developing type 2 diabetes or heart disease, weakness, joint pains-stifness, and experiencing depression and anxiety.

12 Good reasons to move

Exercise Improves Concentration

When you exercise, not only are you feeding your muscles but also feeding your brain. 

It keeps your glucose, blood, and oxygen levels high – all these are needed so your brain can focus more on tasks and concentrate better. 

Additionally, exercise has been shown to stimulate the growth of new connections in the brain cells and stimulate brain plasticity. 

And when you are focused, it’s easier to set deadlines and stick to them as well as keep your tasks manageable.

2. Exercise Lowers the Effects of Stress

While small doses of stress are good for you as they can tune up the brain, too much of it takes a toll on your body. 

You may experience emotional symptoms of stress (becoming moody, easily agitated, low self-esteem, having difficulty relaxing), physical symptoms (low energy, upset stomach, headaches, tense muscles), and cognitive symptoms (constant worrying, inability to focus, racing thoughts).

With exercise, it lowers the negative effects of stress by providing relief to your body while imitating the effects of stress: fight or flight response. It then helps your body practice working through those effects. Moreover, your sleep quality improves and you wake up ready to tackle another workday.

3. Exercise Combats Fatigue 

It may seem counterintuitive to work out when you are suffering from fatigue, but regular exercise is proven to increase energy levels and fight fatigue. 

Exercise boosts endorphins, making you feel more energized and increasing oxygen levels in the blood.

A moderate aerobic exercise, for instance, can increase deep sleep or slow-wave sleep that a person gets. As a result, the body and brain rejuvenate and lead to less fatigue.

4. Exercise Increases Your Energy

The body gets a boost from a workout-induced increase in hormones that make you more energized. 

Specifically, each time you push your body a bit harder than your last exercise, your body recovers and increases your energy capacity.

5. Exercise Gives You a Mood Boost

Exercise can keep the blues at bay. And when you are in a good mood, you tend to produce better work and have a more optimistic outlook. 

As a result, you lead better lives, have more friends, tend to be more successful, and are healthier.

6. Exercise Improves Your Time-Management

Starting your day with a walk, a swim, or any form of exercise can improve your time-management skills. Even those who practice Tai-Chi or yoga are well-aware of the connection between their mind and body.

In short, any form of exercise can make you feel more alert and in control. It makes you disciplined. 

7. Exercise Enhances Your Creativity

Do you want to be more innovative or come up with new ideas? Try taking a walk.

A study has demonstrated that there is a direct link between our creative minds and our physical selves and that regular exercise can enhance our creativity. 

Another research finds that active individuals come up with better and more ideas during tests of inventiveness compared to people who maintain relatively sedentary lifestyles. 

And because regular exercise means producing new brain cells, it tends to sharpen one’s abilities to remember and reason.

8. Exercise Prolongs Your Mental Stamina

You can build up your mental stamina with exercise. As you feel more energetic throughout the day and sleep better at night, you feel more positive about yourself and your life.

No matter your fitness level or age, exercise can help you build stronger resilience. Because of it, you can cope with emotional and mental challenges in life in a healthy way.

9. Exercise Makes Your Memory Sharper

Exercise helps increase the size of the area in the brain involved in learning and memory. It boosts your thinking skills and memory both directly and indirectly.

It directly affects the body by stimulating physiological changes, like reducing inflammation and resistance, along with the production of growth factors. These include the growth of new blood vessels in the brain as well as survival, abundance, and overall health of the new brain cells.

Many studies likewise suggested that exercise makes memory sharper by improving sleep and mood and by reducing anxiety and stress. Problems in these areas often contribute to or cause cognitive impairment.

10. Movement & happiness

Studies have shown that exercise can make us happier, increase in physical activity leads to happiness

more energetic, and smarter. All these are linked to work productivity.

11. Feel good hormones

When you complete a task early in the morning, it can lead to the release of several beneficial hormones, including:

  • Dopamine: Known as the "feel-good hormone," dopamine is released when we experience pleasure, satisfaction, and accomplishment.  
  • Endorphins: These hormones act as natural painkillers and mood elevators, producing feelings of happiness and well-being. Accomplishing a task can lead to an endorphin release, contributing to a positive mindset and increased productivity. 
  • Serotonin: Serotonin is associated with feelings of contentment, calmness, and confidence. Achieving a goal or completing a task early in the day can increase serotonin levels, fostering a sense of satisfaction and self-assurance.

By taking advantage of these natural hormonal responses, completing tasks early in the morning can set a positive tone for the rest of your day, enhancing your overall well-being, and promoting productivit

12. Movement makes you healthier 

Helps prevent health conditions and diseases. For a good, strong heart, exercise regularly. No matter your current weight, physical activity boosts “good” cholesterol ( high-density lipoprotein or HDL) in the body. This is key for keeping your blood flowing smoothly while lowering your chances of getting conditions like:

  • Heart and blood vessel diseases
  • Metabolic syndrome
  • Organ dysfunction, including breast, bladder, kidney, lung, and stomach issues 

Physical activity plays an important role in employees' health, well-being, and quality of life. Employees who are healthier are more productive, require less sick leave, and have lower healthcare costs.