It’s widely known that physical exercise positively impacts your physical, brain and mental health. People in engage in it for those reasons, but you might not be aware that there are personality traits and life endeavours that can improve as well. Here are three surprising benefits of physical exercise.
Can Increase Assertiveness
Assertiveness is one of those traits that is necessary in times of conflict or leadership. Standing up for yourself or guiding others through stern dialogue speaks to the level of respect you have for yourself and for others.
If you’re a man reading this, it’s also important to act this way with women in a relationship or other intimate dynamic. She will respect you more and likely be more attracted to you as it’s associated with masculinity.
Know that if you’re not already naturally assertive, you can change that through physical exercise.
According to a meta analysis of more than 1000 articles addressing the psychological benefits of exercising, assertiveness is said to increase. Studies were conducted on clinical and non-clinical populations (meaning those who are tested from research studies using a medical, surgical or behavioural intervention and those who aren’t).
At one point I went for jogs nearly every morning in the summer before work. I noticed that I had more of a backbone during conflict and argued my points with more conviction in conversation.
Can Improve Academic Performance
Physical exercise is also known to enhance cognitive function in areas like the processes of executive control and attention.
For more information on the cognitive benefits of exercise, you can ready my article here.
As a result of those brain enhancements, one of the surprising benefits of physical exercise is that kids, teenagers and adolescents can see improvements in academic performance. The same article cited above lists this as a proposed benefit and should be taken into consideration if you’re still in school.
Whether it’s a sport you’re enrolled in or a consistent workout regimen, taking the time to stay active may help you achieve the grades you need to get by.
Can Improve Work Efficiency
In the same way physical exercise can improve academic performance, another one of the surprising benefits is that it can also improve work efficiency.
Top-performing people like Richard Branson and Oprah Winfrey incorporate this habit into their routines out of necessity. At that level, stress can break your performance and derail you from your usual schedule, so physical exercise is used as a means to reduce it.
What you can take from this is that even the busiest people on the planet make time to get active. In doing so, they’re better able to maintain their work efficiency.
What’s your excuse?