The importance of regular physical activity for body and mind
Workouts and physical effort in general, help the body release dopamine, a substance that the brain uses to transmit the feeling of well-being and happiness.
Corina Cristea, 09.05.2025, 14:00
In addition to its immediate effect, the benefits of regular physical exercise are long-term, and are also related to mental well-being. Research has proven that each type of exercise affects different areas of the brain, bringing changes in specific mental functions. Thus, weight training helps stimulate the ability to build complex reasoning, necessary for solving problems, or for simultaneously performing several tasks. Yoga is recommended for relieving stress, fear, anxiety and worries, while, experts say, high-intensity interval training reduces the level of the hormone that induces the feeling of hunger in the brain.
Cardio exercises are linked to the part of the brain that controls, among other things, memory, and practicing team sports influences multiple areas of the brain, stimulating the ability to concentrate, awareness of the space around us and the ability to perform multiple tasks. The conclusion is by no means new, as even the Latin expression “mens sana in corpore sano”, used as the motto of most international health institutions, shows.
Each individual has a genetic profile and, depending on this, needs personalized exercise, nutrition and lifestyle. This is the premise from which Mihai Dragomir, an expert in health prevention and maintenance, master of sports and nutrition specialist, laid the foundations of a health center: “At our center we provide each individual, with the typology of movement related to the genetic profile. Every living being needs a form of movement. However, it must be compatible with the ‘the genetic typology’, as I have specified. There is a real difference that, unfortunately, most people do not know, they do not make the difference between sport and movement. Sport involves competition from the start. We are different. As such, not everyone will be able to cope equally well with the respective sport. As for movement, this represents the personalized typology that must be strictly adapted to the characteristics of each person. For example, for some people, a simple walk can be extremely good.”
The important thing is to exercise – one of the ingredients we find in the recipe for a long and quality life, along with a healthy diet, reducing stress levels and rest. An uncontrolled diet translates into metabolic imbalances that lead to obesity and all the associated conditions. And the decrease in the age at which this condition appears and the pressure placed on the health system are two aspects that should not be neglected.
Mihai Dragomir: “Obesity is, in fact, a result, an effect of an existing condition in the body. We have learned, and society teaches us, that obesity means that we eat a lot and that is why we are fat or obese. That is not true. Eating, indeed, affects certain organs in a bad way, mainly the liver and pancreas. Subsequently, it generates harmful effects on the bladder, which can no longer digest fats. And this is where the problem appears, because everything we swallow remains at the level of the intestines, where food is no longer metabolized correctly. The longer they stay in the intestines, the more they turn into residue. After that, evacuation problems appear, which most people do not take into account. Where do these residues go? They turn into toxins, which subsequently begin to alter the organs. This is where the phenomenon of bloating, discomfort, gas, hyperacidity and obesity start.”
In order to avoid this, prevention is important, says nutrition specialist Mihai Dragomir, drawing attention to hydration, because, he says, water is needed for all chemical and physiological processes in the body. A minimum of 1.5 l per day. Mihai Dragomir: “We have to be a little careful about our diet. We are used to putting a lot of things on the table when we eat. So, from the start we make a mistake. We have to get used to eating only one dish at a meal. Why? Because we have to give the body time to enter metabolism. From the moment we swallow the food, its metabolism only begins 20 minutes later. The type of food also matters. Because, for example, if it is a type of carbohydrate with slow absorption and if there is already a condition in the body, metabolism can take up to 48-72 hours.”
Sleep is also very important, because it is the recovery period, in which the liver must regenerate at the cellular level, eliminate all residues and toxins from the body. Unfortunately, says Mihai Dragomir, over 70% of the population faces a sleep deficit. And, last but not least, it is important to keep our minds busy all the time, to find something to do, in this way we can contribute to the prevention of Alzheimer’s and other similar diseases. (EE)
