The benefits of exercise are well documented, with its positive impact on the body's physical and mental processes. Exercise can even be fun if you share a routine with friends or enjoy playtime with the kids. 

If you're concerned about protecting your health, a regular exercise workout may deliver the best news of all. Thirty minutes of moderate aerobic activity performed at least three days a week can help to prolong a person's length and quality of life. Here are some of the key body systems that will benefit from regular exercise:

1. The brain will work better. Physical activity helps to improve general body circulation with increased blood flow to all parts, including the brain. Physical senses (sight, scent, smell, taste, touch) are enhanced and memory improves when you exercise on a regular basis. Routine workouts also balance hormonal secretions to help you manage stress, depression, and anger. You will be able to think more clearly and perhaps even faster when you take time to exercise the body. 

2. Your heart will pump more efficiently. A physical workout that increases your heart within safe limits means that your heart will pump faster and harder, pushing blood through the circulatory system to every artery, vein, and capillary in the body. Oxygenated blood helps to maintain a healthy immune system, controls blood pressure by reducing plaque buildup on artery walls, and nourishes various organs to keep your body working well.

3. Your lungs will clear and develop improved breathing function. Frequent exercise can help you breathe more deeply, which in turn can clear the lungs of free radicals and excess mucous so that more oxygen is processed into the blood system and throughout your internal organs. Unless you have exercise-related allergies or asthma, rhythmic breathing aids your system in releasing "used" air with the body's impurities and taking in "fresh" air as a cleansing agent.

4. Muscles will strengthen and become streamlined.

As we age, we lose muscle tone and strength, along with flexibility. Exercise will rebuild muscle groups, enhance stamina, and increase physical strength. Obviously, the muscles that get used the most in a workout are those that will demonstrate the greatest benefit, so you may want to vary your routine from time to time to work on different groups of muscles. For example, you can walk or run for the legs and hips, swim for upper body strength, and play tennis for a total body workout.

5. The bones will lengthen and toughen to endure more trauma and weight-bearing tasks. Aging bones become brittle as they lose calcium and strength. Physical activity like jogging, hiking, or bicycling can help your bones become stronger and more durable. A weight-lifting program, coordinated by a professional expert, need not be strenuous before you begin to see and feel results in the way your body responds to everyday demands.

Exercise should be an important part of everyone's health regimen, especially those who enjoy good health and want to preserve it as long as possible.