Fall is creeping up on us, it’s cooler and it’s a great time to get moving and head outdoors. Having good cardiovascular health and being fit and strong is super important and one of the main pillars of good health. Lack of physical activity is now considered the 4th global cause of death just after high blood pressure, smoking and high blood sugar. Sitting has now been stated as the new smoking. Kaiser Permanente’s Family Foundation has completed studies of the youth today and they discovered that today’s youth spends an average of 7.5 hours of screen time a day and only 7 minutes outside moving. There was a study published in the journal, JAMA Network Open, stating that not exercising may be worse for your health than smoking, https://time.com/5430203/new-study-not-exercising-worse-than-smoking/. Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic tested over 120,000 adults for 23 years by putting them on a treadmill test and then looking at their mortality rates, and discovered that not exercising has a worse prognosis for early death than having high blood pressure, diabetes or smoking.
Exercise has amazing health benefits. Number one is brain health. It has been argued by two of my favorite brain and Alzheimer doctors, Dean and Ayesha Sherzai, who wrote “The Alzheimer’s Solution”, that exercise is even more important for brain health than heart health. It is amazing for learning, memory, focus, anxiety and mood. It does this specifically by greatly increasing blood flow to the brain and increasing endorphins and neurotransmitters such as dopamine. It is also great for the immune system. Even just 10 minutes of movement can increase infection fighting immune cells by up to 50%. Weight bearing exercise is awesome for bone health and keeping our muscles strong, specifically leg and core muscles, which helps prevent falls as we age.
Exercise can also increase energy. Think of the law of physics, an object in motion stays in motion and an object at rest stays at rest. If you are feeling exhausted and unmotivated, just get up and try a little movement for 5 minutes, a walk around the block or do a few stretches. See if you can get that object (yourself) in motion.
Finding the exercise that works for you and brings you joy is the best and it’s different for each person. Walking is great. We are slowly cooling from summer, the air is cleaner and seeing Fall and all its beauty coming through can be inspiring. The changes of the trees and its leaves are stunning. I love seeing the colors change and thinking about the beautiful fall harvest on my walks with the dog.
Find what works, find a friend and maybe take some walks or hikes outside, or hop on a bike.
Find your joy, boost your energy, pick up your mood and let’s get moving.
