Three Ways your Exercise and Your Money are Closely Connected

It may come as a surprise to learn that your health and your finances are actually intricately connected.

 

It might initially seem like exercise negatively impacts your finances since you have to pay for your gym membership, workout classes, athletic clothes, personal trainers etc. However, if you really consider all the ways exercise positively affects your mind and body it starts to make sense that working out and staying healthy can have a positive influence on your finances.

 

Here are three reasons why exercise and money are so intertwined:

Healthcare Costs

 

The first reason is the most obvious: healthcare costs. If you workout regularly and keep yourself healthy, you significantly reduce your risk of illness.

Cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, arthritis, and many other chronic illnesses can be prevented in part by exercising.  All these illnesses can end up being extremely costly so spending money on a gym membership now can help prevent a chronic illness in the future that could lead to long-term medical bills.

 

You can also cut your healthcare costs in a short-term way with exercise. It can help make you more resistant to those bugs that will knock you out for a week, like the flu, and makes your body more resistant to infections. Additionally, staying fit can also reduce your risk of injury. Even if you can save yourself a few trips to the doctor per year, that is the cost of going to the doctor, medicines, and taking time off work that you don’t have to worry about.

 

Keeping yourself healthy will allow you to spend less time being sick, and more time being productive and making money. Exercising will also give you more longevity for a healthy life so you will be able to work later in your life. Physical activity not only cuts healthcare costs but also provides you with the ability to give yourself more opportunity to make money throughout your life.

 

Mental Effects

 

One of the most important things that exercise does for the mind is developing a skill for discipline.

Those who exercise regularly develop a diligence that provides an edge in the work place. People who develop exercise habits from a young age not only develop this discipline early but also learn teamwork and how to work with a coach, which are more skills that readily translate to a working environment.

 

An additional mental benefit of exercising regularly is decreased stress levels. Working up a sweat in the gym causes your brain to release endorphins that act as stress relievers. These lower levels of stress allow you to work more productively to help you advance in your career.

Plus, those same endorphins also lead to better sleep quality. Physical activity will help you feel more alert during the day and sleep better, and who doesn’t work better when they feel well rested?

 

Finally;  people that workout regularly tend to feel better about themselves, and exhibit higher levels of confidence. That confidence comes across in the workplace and is often rewarded by bosses entrusting confident employees with bigger projects or even promotions.

 

Fewer Vices

 

Along with the alertness and lower stress levels that you will experience when working out consistently, you will also feel less desire to go back to your bad habits that can also be money draining.

 

Whether that is smoking, bad food, alcohol or any other habit you can’t quite kick, exercise can help to reduce the feeling that you need to indulge yourself in a negative way.

One of the reasons for this has to do with the stress relieving abilities of exercise. If you indulge in your vices when you are stressed, learning to choose exercise instead can help alleviate your stress and act as a more effective coping mechanism.

 

Additionally, exercise allows your brain to release neurotransmitters that help you feel happy. Some of the same neurotransmitters are released when you indulge in your bad habits, which is what makes it so hard to stop a bad habit. If you begin to break the bad habits with exercise, you will be spending much less money on your vices and in turn making yourself an overall happier, healthier person.

 

Everyone knows that exercise is good for you. However, few people take the time to think about how exercise is not only good for your body but also your wallet. Keeping on top of your health and wellness can save you money by cutting costs both in the long run and in the present. When you really consider all the positive aspects of exercise, it becomes clear that it is more than worth it to take a little time out of your day to go to the gym and work on both your fitness and your financial status.