5 SURPRISING BENEFITS OF EXERCISE

The World Health Organisation says you’re not exercising enough to beat disease. Challenge accepted

The WHO (no, not the band) have found you can cut your risk of suffering from diabetes, heart disease, strokes and more modern ailments by doing 72 minutes of running a week. Depressingly, the British Medical Journal confirmed you needed around 5 times that much exercise to really slash your chances of getting sick.

The plus side is that if you do start doing some serious working out, you won't just bust your chances of contracting disease. Here's 5 more reasons to lace up your trainers and pick up a barbell.

It saves your relationship. Birthdays, anniversaries, monthly date nights… your calendar is littered with trapdoors to the doghouse. But while a rushed bouquet of garage forecourt flowers might get you back onside once or twice, regularly hitting the gym can eliminate the issue entirely. Adrenaline and energy delivered to the brain during exercise enhances memory and, over a period of time, results in the generation of new brain cells in the hippocampus.

In a study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, aerobic exercise was shown to increase the size of the anterior hippocampus, leading to improved recall skills.

It fattens your wallet. As journalists we can't personally confirm whether money buys you happiness, but recent studies have revealed that happiness will net you money.

Michael Como, authored a recent investigation into the correlation between wealth and happiness published in The Park Place Economist. "The results showed that people with a positive outlook in life and healthy self-esteem earn significantly more than their less positive and less confident counterparts," he concluded. If you're looking to cash in some extra smiles, the gym should be your first port of call. Research suggests that burning 350 calories, three times a week, reduces the symptoms of depression as effectively as antidepressants.

(Related: how to get your finances back in order)

What's more, a study published in The Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine, found you may also be able to stretch your way to a bigger pay check. Three sessions of yoga per week boosted participants' levels of the brain chemical GABA, which boosts your mood and decreases anxiety levels.

It makes you look younger. True, regular exercise won't morph you into George Clooney, but it will roll back the years. The vasodilation that results from exercise leads to more blood reaching the skin’s surface, which revs up collagen production and thwarts wrinkles.

“As we age, fibroblasts [the collagen-producing cells in the skin] get lazier and fewer in number,” says dermatologist Audrey Kunin. “But the nutrients delivered to the skin during exercise help fibroblasts work more efficiently, so your skin looks younger.” Forget botox and opt for a weekly five-a-side game for a gratis facelift.

It gives you better erections. A series of studies conducted by Harvard University have found a healthy gym habit also boosts your performance below the belt. Not only are men with a 42-inch waist 50% more likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction than those with a 32-inch waist; men who are active for 30 minutes per day are 41% less likely to go limp than the average couch potato. Follow our 35 ways to lose your love handles to drop a jeans size and supercharge your sex life.