Benefits of Exercise

"People with a high activity level, about what you'd get from walking briskly for an hour daily, lived 4.5 years longer than their more sedentary peers.  People who walked 75 minutes a week -- just over 10 minutes a daiy -- lived almost 2 years long than nonexercisers." National Cancer Institute

/Another good reason to exercise, and one does not need to spend hours doing it.  Just slightly over 10 minutes a day brings benefits.  That is good news, as some days are too busy to get in an hour; but most of us can manage to walk for 10 minutes.  According to Steven Moore, PhD, "If you want to live longer, any physical activity is good.  But more is better."  On days when we cannot fit in more time for exercise, let's at least mange 10 minutes of walking.  It is not just the living longer, which we may or may not want, but it is being healthier while we are alive that is impetus for exercise.  Today I took a very brisk walk.  It was cold and windy, but it felt good to breathe in deeply the clean, crisp air.  I prefer to walk outdoors, but treadmills are a good thing for those who prefer -- or need -- to be indoors.  If the weather is inclement, I have even walked inside the house and up and down stairs,.  Exercise does not need to be expensive or difficult to schedule; it can be as simple as having a good pair of walking shoes and the desire to move our bodies.