As school ramps back up into season, so does stress. Especially being a student at Keystone, our coursework can be demanding, sometimes making it difficult to complete other tasks. During the school year, it can be extremely difficult to carve out time to exercise, but new research shows that exercising is more important now than ever.
One thing that researchers for decades have stated is that exercise is critical for a better overall health. According to an article published in Mayo Clinic in 2023, exercising can lower the risk of a variety of health risks, including stroke, metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, depression, anxiety, cancer, and many more. While it is undeniable that exercising has health benefits in preventing various chronic conditions and diseases, Impact Journals LLC new research finds that exercising can actually also reverse your body’s aging clock.
To study this, researchers wanted to analyze a concept known as “epigenetics aging”. In simple terms this term just refers to the idea of how people can age at the molecular level. To analyze the aging process, scientists looked at the presence of a compound known as DNA methylation in the body.
In the study, researchers studied both human and mice groups. According to the results, “…structured endurance and resistance training [in mice] reduced age-related molecular changes in muscle tissue. In humans, multi-week exercise interventions demonstrated reductions in biological age markers in blood and skeletal muscle” (Impact). They found that the test groups overall had a slower epigenetic aging after participating in exercise. The most significant finding was that a study that showed “middle-aged women reduced their epigenetic age by two years after just eight weeks of combined aerobic and strength training”(Impact). So it’s never too late to start.
While it might be hard to cram exercise into our already packed schedules, new research finds that it is important for us to do so. Doing cardio exercise even for just 15 minutes per day, has been proven to positively impact our health. So, I encourage you to wake up 15 minutes early and do a cardio workout or go on a run during a homework break. Exercise doesn’t have to be extravagant. As long as you make some time for it, your body will be grateful.
If you want some inspiration check out the link below which has the exercises for a workout after school: https://youtu.be/zyqzu5DLCkw?si=GxikUkNu3CyNB7Cc
Works Cited:
Mayo Clinic. “Exercise: 7 Benefits of Regular Physical Activity.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 26 Aug. 2023, www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389.
Impact Journals LLC. “Exercise may actually reverse your body’s aging clock.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 31 August 2025. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250831010510.htm>.
