benefits of exercise
Hypertension Prevention and Treatment
According to researchers at NIH, high intensity interval training helps prevent and control high blood pressure, even for individuals at high familial risk for hypertension (i.e. high blood pressure). High intensity interval training, which consists of 1 to 4 minute intervals of intense exercise and active rest, has this effect partially because it improves cardiorespiratory fitness, the body’s ability to continue pumping oxygen despite physical activity. Consequently, studies suggest that “21% of hypertension cases could be avoided by increasing cardiorespiratory fitness levels.” Researchers admit, however, that they have yet to determine how frequent individuals should train or how long intervals and recovery periods between intervals should last in order to achieve desired results.
Ciolac, E. G. (2012). High-intensity interval training and hypertension: maximizing the benefits of exercise? American Journal of Cardiovascular Disease, 2(2), 102–110.
Management of Depressive Symptoms
Although 35 to 40 percent of individuals with coronary heart disease experience, at minimum, elevated depressive symptoms, there is no established treatment for depression in cardiac patients. In this study, researchers found that by exercising 3 times per week for 30 to 45 minutes per session, cardiac patients could significantly reduce their depressive symptoms. In fact, by the end of the study, 40 percent of those assigned exercise as treatment had their depression go into remission compared to just 10 percent of those taking anti-depression medication.
Blumenthal, J. A., Sherwood, A., Babyak, M. A., Watkins, L. L., & Smith, P. J. (2012). Exercise and Pharmacological Treatment of Depressive Symptoms in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 60(12), 1053–1063.
Enhanced Memory
Previous research suggests that a decline in hippocampal neurogenesis is a reliable marker of aging. The current study supported this notion as well as identified leptin as a potential serum marker for “age-related declines in cognition and plasticity” (35). Researchers found that several months of daily exercise both increased hippocampal neurogenesis and decreased leptin production in aging rats. Researchers also found that aging rats who exercised daily exhibited improved memory, speed of learning, and retention of contextual information. While these results cannot be definitively applied to humans, technology doesn’t presently support a way to examine why “elderly humans who exercise regularly exhibit better scores on cognitive tests and have larger hippocampal volumes” before they are post-mortem (26). This study may offer some early stage insight.
Speisman, R. B., Kumar, A., Rani, A., Foster, T. C., & Ormerod, B. K. (2013). Daily exercise improves memory, stimulates hippocampal neurogenesis and modulates immune and neuroimmune cytokines in aging rats. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 28, 25–43.