Here's Why Working Out Is Scientifically the Key to a Long Life

No surprise here: There are many benefits to leading an active life and regularly working out. Exercising boosts your mental wellness and sleep quality, and decreases your risk of chronic disease and stress levels, according to the American Heart Association. Working out is also as close to the fountain of youth as we can get, since it's the key to living a long life, according to the New York Times. 

Working out strengthens our bones and muscles (including the ever-important heart), which helps prevent falls in our later years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of moderate activity per week. Depending on your weight, making it a habit to exercise every week can add anywhere from 3.9 to 7.2 years on to your life, Live Science reported. 

Read more: Here are 7 Leg Exercises That Aren't Squatting

Those will probably be good years too, since physical activity has been found to create more feelings of excitement and enthusiasm, and can also protect us against cognitive decline and shrinkage, according to Time. 

Research has also found that those 150 minutes can cut down on premature death by 31%, according to the New York Times. But the optimized amount was found to be 450 minutes, which can include walking, and reduced participant chances of dying prematurely by 39%. 

Vigorous exercise — jogging or aerobics — has been found to lead to greater life expectancy compared to moderate exercise, according to Forbes. 

Many of us skip working out because of tight schedules and other priorities, but setting a schedule, or at least committing to efficient high-intensity training, will make a difference in the summer — and the rest of your life.