Exercise comes with all sorts of perks, including physical, mental, and emotional improvements. By getting regular workouts in, you stand to gain a wide variety of benefits, some of which you would expect and some that might surprise you. While you would assume that weight control and preventative care would be on the list, you might also be surprised to find out there’s a correlation between exercise and hair growth.
Here are some of the advantages of a regular workout routine, followed by the science behind some of the unexpected perks.
Weight Control
Exercise helps keep you from gaining excess weight and helps maintain any weight loss you’ve already accomplished. By exercising, you burn calories, and those burned calories translate to better weight control.
If you aren’t one for intense workouts at the gym, don’t worry. You can still get the benefits of exercise from doing activities like going for a walk or taking a dip in the pool. Any activity you partake in aids with weight control.
Improved Mood
By participating in physical activity, your brain releases chemicals that make you feel happier and help you combat stress and anxiety. Thus, if you’re feeling anxious or even a little depressed, you should head out for a walk or sign up for a workout class to help. The endorphin release will work wonders on your psyche and help you feel better in no time.
Boosts Energy
According to the Mayo Clinic, “exercise delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and helps your cardiovascular system work more efficiently.” This improved heart and lung health can help give you more energy to do everyday tasks. So, the next time you’re feeling sluggish, instead of reaching for an energy drink or taking a nap, get out and get some exercise instead. You’ll come back feeling rejuvenated both mentally and physically.
Helps With Sleep
Exercise can help you fall asleep faster and help you get into a deeper sleep. Just be sure that you give yourself enough time to burn off the energy that often comes after a workout before you head to bed. That way, you will enjoy the benefits of exercise with your sleep.
Prevents Health Issues
As stated by the Mayo Clinic, “No matter what your current weight is, being active boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, the “good” cholesterol, and it decreases unhealthy triglycerides.”
The chances are good that you are familiar with most, if not all, of the benefits above. However, one benefit of working out that you may not be as familiar with is that it can help with hair growth. Yes, you read that right. Your hair may thank you for that regular gym workout, so read on to find out how and why.
How Exercise Helps with Hair Growth
By adding regular exercise to your life, you may find that your hair health improves, especially when it comes to healthy hair growth. Here are some reasons why.
Alleviates Stress
One of the leading causes of hair loss and issues with hair growth is stress. And, as mentioned above, exercise is a great way to combat extreme stress because it releases endorphins. Endorphins are chemicals naturally produced in your body that work to relieve both stress levels and pain. In fact, endorphins are nicknamed the happiness hormones.
Thus, by adding exercise into your life regularly, you lower your chances of having high levels of stress that lead to hair loss and/or halts in hair growth.
Improves Diet
For most people, working out makes you want to eat better. You start to think about the damage a daily cheeseburger and fries does to your body.
(Please note that we are huge proponents of living a balanced life and enjoying the da** fries from time to time, as long as doing so doesn’t become too regular of an occurrence.)
Eating better also gives you the energy you need to complete your workouts and recover from them as well. In addition, a healthier diet can lead to healthier hair. Adding fruits and vegetables into your daily diet helps you get more B vitamins, which can help with your hair growth. Vegetables are also a great source of antioxidants that fight damage from free radicals and prevent other problems that lead to stunted hair growth.
Increases Blood Flow
The chances are good that you know that exercise helps with your blood flow. If you’ve ever sat for too long and your legs or feet have fallen asleep, that’s because your circulation was compromised and caused your blood flow to become restricted.
Exercise helps to open up the blood flow to all parts of your body, including your scalp. For your hair to grow, it must get oxygen and nutrients from your body’s blood vessels. And when those blood vessels are restricted, your scalp won’t get the nutrients it needs.
Thus, by adding some cardio into your week (30 minutes, 3 times a week), you will find that your hair follicles are more stimulated thanks to them getting the nutrients and oxygen they need to keep growing.
Top Exercises for Hair Growth
Now that you understand the connection between exercise and hair growth let’s get into some of the workouts you should be doing to maximize your hair growth opportunities.
Jogging
This form of cardio is great for getting your blood flowing as well as getting you to sweat. Sweat is one of your body’s ways of flushing out toxins via the pores in your skin and your scalp, which may be causing issues with your hair growth. Thus, sweat it out to grow it out.
Yoga
Yoga involves upside-down poses that cause blood to rush to your scalp. This increase blood flow may be able to help with hair growth, as your scalp is getting the nutrients it needs. Just grab a yoga mat and try a few moves like the shoulder stand pose (sarvangasana), camel pose (ustrasana) or downward dog pose (adho mukha svanasana).
If physical fitness and wellness weren’t enough reasons to take on a routine exercise plan, perhaps the idea of thicker and fuller hair will motivate you. So get out and get active and enjoy the wide variety of perks that getting fit can bring you.
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