Close Menu
The Baylor Lariat
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
    Trending
    • How facilities responds to storms, flooding in campus buildings
    • Welcome Week leaders now paid in hopes of increasing numbers
    • 5 Baylor sports storylines to look forward to in 2025-26
    • Castle’s grand slam lifts baseball to 30th win of season 10-7
    • What to Do in Waco: Summer Edition
    • Liberty, justice for all: Dr. Van Gorder confronts racial oppression in new book
    • Texas math teachers strengthen skills at School of Education’s academy
    • Don’t believe myths about autism — reduce stigma by learning facts
    • About us
      • Spring 2025 Staff Page
      • Copyright Information
    • Contact
      • Contact Information
      • Letters to the Editor
      • Subscribe to The Morning Buzz
      • Department of Student Media
    • Employment
    • PDF Archives
    • RSS Feeds
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
    The Baylor LariatThe Baylor Lariat
    Subscribe to the Morning Buzz
    Friday, May 16
    • News
      • State and National News
        • State
        • National
      • Politics
        • 2025 Inauguration Page
        • Election Page
      • Homecoming Page
      • Baylor News
      • Waco Updates
      • Campus and Waco Crime
    • Arts & Life
      • Wedding Edition 2025
      • What to Do in Waco
      • Campus Culture
      • Indy and Belle
      • Sing 2025
      • Leisure and Travel
        • Leisure
        • Travel
          • Baylor in Ireland
      • Student Spotlight
      • Local Scene
        • Small Businesses
        • Social Media
      • Arts and Entertainment
        • Art
        • Fashion
        • Food
        • Literature
        • Music
        • Film and Television
    • Opinion
      • Editorials
      • Points of View
      • Lariat Letters
    • Sports
      • March Madness 2025
      • Football
      • Basketball
        • Men’s Basketball
        • Women’s Basketball
      • Soccer
      • Baseball
      • Softball
      • Volleyball
      • Equestrian
      • Cross Country and Track & Field
      • Acrobatics & Tumbling
      • Tennis
      • Golf
      • Pro Sports
      • Sports Takes
      • Club Sports
    • Lariat TV News
    • Multimedia
      • Video Features
      • Podcasts
        • Don’t Feed the Bears
      • Slideshows
    • Advertising
    The Baylor Lariat
    Home»Arts and Life

    Five immediate results of forming good exercise habits

    webmasterBy webmasterJanuary 22, 2015 Arts and Life No Comments4 Mins Read
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email
    The long-term benefits of exercise are worth the time and effort spent in the gym. However, working out also offers immediate benefits such as more restful sleep and increased brain function. (Tribune News Service)
    The long-term benefits of exercise are worth the time and effort spent in the gym. However, working out also offers immediate benefits such as more restful sleep and increased brain function. (Tribune News Service)

    By Ben Rubin
    greatist.com (TNS)

    By now, we all know that getting our sweat on does wonders for our physical and mental health. But that doesn’t make it any easier to get us off the couch, pause our Netflix marathon and get our blood pumping – especially when six-pack abs don’t happen overnight.

    When asked, people give lots of reasons for why they work out: to gain more strength and endurance, manage weight and look better.

    Those motivators – the model-hot looks and health impacts – are the long-term benefits. But the reality is that it’s hard to get excited about long-term benefits. We struggle with delayed gratification in all parts of life, not just when it comes to achieving our fitness goals.

    In economics, researches have found that when people are offered $50 now versus $100 a year later, most will opt for the instant reward.

    While the long-term benefits of breaking a sweat are definitely worth the wait, there are also some powerful perks you’ll experience right away. And for many of us, those are much more likely to convince us to head to the gym right now (or at least after finishing this article).

    1. Boost your mood

    You don’t need an hour-long, high-intensity workout to trigger a grin. Just 20 minutes of jogging has been found to elevate mood – and surprisingly the intensity doesn’t matter.

    In fact, there’s reason to believe that pushing yourself too hard delays or reduces the lift in your mood. So choose a workout you’re comfortable with and ride that exercise high for hours.

    2. Sleep like a baby

    The secret to a better night’s sleep could lie in a visit to the gym. In an Italian study, folks who worked out in the morning fell asleep quicker, slept longer and woke up less frequently. If you’re looking to maximize your zzzs, stick to cardio. While strength training helped study participants have a good night’s sleep, cardio impacted sleep quality even the next night.

    Other research has shown that exercise leads to more deep sleep, which is not so surprising when you consider that growth hormone – the thing that repairs tired and torn muscles – spikes during deep sleep.

    3. Increase your self-esteem

    We all want to feel like we’re on top of the world, and working out can be just the thing to boost your confidence. Researchers in Norway found that children who exercised regularly showed signs of improved self-esteem in the short term after working out.

    Other research has found that achieving a goal (whether it be doing a few push-ups or learning to do a handstand) has a positive benefit on the way we view ourselves. And we don’t even have to be aware that we have that goal in the first place. Meeting unconscious goals – like that vague intention to work out that you’re feeling right now – also gives a self-esteem boost.

    4. Think more clearly

    Moderate aerobic exercise (like running or cycling for 30 minutes) can make us ninja-like with our reaction speed and improve our problem solving abilities – just the things you need for a productive day at the office. But try not to push too hard too fast. High-intensity interval training has been found to cause physical fatigue that also makes your reactions slower.

    5. Have fun! (And forget whatever’s looming on your to-do list)

    The days of aching, sore muscles that inevitably follow a return to the gym can make it hard to remember one of the best parts of working out: It can be a lot of fun.

    Research has found that minimizing pain (or perceived pain) from working out can be as simple as thinking about the activity as something you’ll actually enjoy. After all, liking a specific workout is a strong predictor of whether you’ll return again.

    Exercise Fitness Health
    webmaster

    Keep Reading

    What to Do in Waco: Summer Edition

    Don’t believe myths about autism — reduce stigma by learning facts

    Fields of joy: Western Belle Farm’s Sunflower Festival returns this May

    Review: ‘Until Dawn’ starts strong, gets lost in the fog

    A&L Tunesday: May 6

    Waco roots to recognition: Texas short film gains national traction

    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Recent Posts
    • How facilities responds to storms, flooding in campus buildings May 6, 2025
    • Welcome Week leaders now paid in hopes of increasing numbers May 6, 2025
    About

    The award-winning student newspaper of Baylor University since 1900.

    Articles, photos, and other works by staff of The Baylor Lariat are Copyright © Baylor® University. All rights reserved.

    Subscribe to the Morning Buzz

    Get the latest Lariat News by just Clicking Subscribe!

    Follow the Live Coverage
    Tweets by @bulariat

    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
    • Featured
    • News
    • Sports
    • Opinion
    • Arts and Life
    © 2025 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.