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The first thing most people do when embarking on a regimen to improve their health is take a good hard look at their diet. And that’s a great place to start — but don’t stop there. What many people fail to recognize is that exercise is a vital component to overall body/mind health and well being. Just about every system in the body benefits from regular, moderate exercise. And studies now show that the benefits are more than skin deep. In addition to ameliorating a variety of heart-related illnesses, exercise is recognized as a key to staving off age-related conditions, increasing brain power, elevating mood and even living longer.
Cardiovascular Health. According to the American Heart Association, exercise plays a role in both primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. A preliminary study in Canada reported that stair climbing for 2 minutes several times a day can lower total cholesterol, raise HDL cholesterol and improve the resting pulse rate in sedentary young women. Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for heart disease and is linked to cardiovascular mortality.
Brain Health [1]. Exercise may rev up a person's brain power. In a 2001 study, researchers measured the thinking ability of 20 men and women aged 18 to 24 after 30 minutes of moderately heavy to heavy running on a treadmill. Once the participants' heart rates had returned to resting levels, they were wired up to an electroencephalogram (EEG), which measured their brain waves.
Participants then took two computer tests, one more difficult than the other. These results were compared with results from tests the participants took before exercising. Brain wave measurements showed that exercising increased the speed of the decision-making process. In addition, the respondents answered more accurately after exercise then they did when they had not exercised.
Mental Health [2]. If you’re feeling down in the dumps, exercise may be just what the doctor ordered. Researchers found that an hour of aerobics reduced tension, anger and fatigue among study participants, with the benefit being significantly greater among those who felt depressed before the exercise session.
Researchers studied 80 men and women who volunteered to take mood tests prior to and after an hour-long aerobics class. They determined that 52 volunteers were in depressed moods before the exercise, while 28 were not. After exercise, those with depressed-moods were significantly more likely to report a reduction in anger, fatigue and tension, as well as increased vigor.
A number of studies have shown that exercise can lift a person's spirits, and there is even evidence that physical activity can aid in treating clinical depression (although the aforementioned study focused on "depressed mood," not clinical depression).
Women’s Health. Fluctuations in hormonal levels and cycles can make menopause a time of extreme emotional and physical changes for many women — and just the time when regular exercise can be especially beneficial. Shan James, exercise physiologist and fitness manager at the Duke Center for Living, part of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., says exercise specifically benefits women in their 50s and older in several ways.
"The hormonal changes affect not only mood swings, behavior and emotions, but also the way our body works," says James. "The endorphins that are released in exercise can actually help with a lot of these mood swings that women experience."
James suggests an exercise program during and after menopause that includes weight-bearing and resistance exercise to help increase or maintain bone density and prevent osteoporosis. She recommends walking or jogging, as well as resistance exercise, the most effective way to help strengthen major muscle groups.
Aerobic exercise reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and also helps to combat weight gain. "As our metabolism slows down, we gain weight more quickly," James says. "So you absolutely have to add in cardiovascular exercise, at that time, getting the heart rate up for 30 to 60 minutes, to be able to counteract the weight gain."
Continuing Good Health. Most of us intuitively know that keeping fit is good for our long-term health, but research published in the British medical journal, The Lancet, makes it official. The results of a 22-year study of physical activity on more than 2,000 middle-aged men, carried out by a Norwegian team of doctors, concluded that there was a direct link between physical fitness and a reduced risk of death.
The study reports that "moderate improvements in physical fitness, particularly among those who are least fit, bring substantial benefits to health." Those whose fitness improved over the time of the study were less likely to die. They showed a corresponding improvement in risk factors such as blood pressure, breathing capacity and heart rate.
For most of us, motivating to do physical work when many of the benefits won't be realized until later in life can be difficult. But the fact is, a half hour of brisk exercise can literally extend or even save your life. Not only that, but you'll look better, sleep better and have more energy throughout the day. And if those aren’t reasons enough to move you off the couch and out the door, Dr. Susan Smith Jones has 119 more for you.
References
1. Annual Meeting of The Society of Psychophysiological Research in Montreal, Canada October 18, 2001
2. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness December 2001;41:539-545
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