Exercise for overall wellness
Exercise has both physical and mental benefits!
Feeling better
A total of thirty minutes of moderate exercise (such as three 10-minute brisk walks) per day is enough for both physical and mental health benefits. Exercise helps us mentally by "reducing anxiety, depression, and negative mood and by improving self-esteem and cognitive function" (Sharma, Madaan, & Petty, 2006). This means that exercise not only helps to improve our mood and how we feel about ourselves, but it also helps our brain functioning!
One hour per week
Does 30 minutes a day sound like too much? Start with a goal that is achievable. The National Osteoarthritis Initiative research showed that moderate-to-vigorous physical activity such as brisk walking for a total of one hour per week
prevented older adults with osteoarthritis from becoming disabled, allowing them to maintain more independence (Dunlop et. al, 2019). That could equate to less than 10 minutes a day!
Think outside the box
"Exercise" is not limited to only walking or running. Aerobic dance, biking, climbing stairs, gardening, and other physical activities count!
Do you want to age well and keep your brain healthy?
Numerous research studies of adults age 50+ show that exercise boosts both physical and cognitive functioning (Falck et. al, 2019). Studies show that engaging in moderate or vigorous intensity physical activity in mid and late life reduces decline in cognitive (and memory) functioning. Aerobic exercise also contributes to brain health in younger adults as well, from age 20-67 (Stern et. al, 2019).
References
Dunlop, D.D., Song, J., Hootman, J.M., Nevitt, M.C., Semanik, P.A., Lee, J.L., Sharma, L.,
Eaton, C.B., Hochberg, M.C., Jackson, R.D., Kwoh, C.K., & Change, R.W. (2019). One hour a week: Moving to prevent disability in adults with lower extremity joint symptoms. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 56(5), pp. 664-672. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2018.12.017
Falck RS, Davis JC, Best JR, Crockett RA, Liu-Ambrose T. Impact of exercise training on physical and cognitive function
among older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurobiology of Aging. 2019 Jul;79:119-130. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2019.03.007.
Sharma, A., Madaan, V., & Petty, F. D. (2006). Exercise for mental health. Primary care companion to the Journal of
clinical psychiatry, 8(2), 106. https://doi.org/10.4088/pcc.v08n0208a
Stern, Y., MacKay-Brandt, A., Lee, S., McKinley, P., McIntyre, K., Razlighi, Q., Agarunov, E., Bartels, M., & Sloan, RP.
Effect of aerobic exercise on cognition in younger adults: A randomized clinical trial. Neurology. 2019 Feb 26;92(9):e905-e916. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000007003.
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