Day 294 of 365 - Move for a Better Brain & Body
I swiped most of that title from a summit presentation that I watched about the benefits of exercise. I'm incorporating some ideas from it as well as tips from other experts in today's writing. The truth is, that most of us don't get enough, though exercise is one of the most powerful ways to impact and maintain our health.
Our bodies are genetically designed to be active and to interact with the world around us throughout the day. However, our modern lifestyle has made us very sedentary. Most of us sit for many, many hours of the day in one situation or another and would benefit from an increase in almost any type of movement.
Dr. Alan Christianson, a naturopathic doctor, reminds us that the key is to keep our body moving. Our blood gets thick and stagnant when we don't. We need muscle movement in addition to our heart pumping to keep all our fluids circulating well. When we sit for longer than 45 minutes at a time, our brain productivity goes down.
Anything that is good for the heart, is good for the brain. Increasing blood flow to the brain delivers more oxygen to it, among other things. That extra blood flow also helps the brain with its detoxification processes. Think of it as taking out the garbage or the residues of our metabolic processes.
Moderate exercise is the ideal, as it diminishes the stress response and the release of cortisol, the stress hormone. Intense exercise heightens cortisol and is best done early in the day for that reason. Other great benefits of exercise are: increasing production of brain growth factor, which makes the brain work better; improves memory formation and memory function; decreases inflammation by calming down the immune system; makes your cells hungry for glucose and is a powerful insulin sensitizer; and improves mood by stimulating release of the 'feel good' chemicals in the brain.
What's the best kind of exercise? Really, it's whatever type you enjoy and will do regularly. Consistency and regularity are key. Having an exercise buddy or going to some kind of scheduled class is helpful for some people, but if that's not your thing, doing something on your own is effective too; anything that gets you moving in a variety of ways. The recommended standard is 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week.
Here's another approach for those who find it hard to get out and do an activity for 30 minutes a day. Just breaking up our sedentary routines with several little patterns of movement throughout the day can give you as much benefit as an hour at the gym. Dr. Christianson suggests the following. Every 50 minutes throughout the day, get up from sitting and do this cycle of movement. Swing your arms back and forth vigorously twelve times. Rotate your torso six times each way. Do six deep diaphragmatic breaths. Go look out a window at the horizon and then back to your hand six times. Shake each leg out vigorously. Get more water and use the bathroom.
Sue Hitzman, creator of the MELT Method, also reminds us to tap into our basic sensorimotor patterns of movement. If you watch a baby move, they are doing so in all planes. As we grow, we unnaturally learn to primarily move our body in up/down and forward movement. Think of sitting, standing, walking. But it's also good for our body to rotate, move on diagonals and move in different directions. So, any kind of activity that incorporates these is good for our overall health too.
Thanks for reading! Now, get up and move around for a couple of minutes please.
Our bodies are genetically designed to be active and to interact with the world around us throughout the day. However, our modern lifestyle has made us very sedentary. Most of us sit for many, many hours of the day in one situation or another and would benefit from an increase in almost any type of movement.
Dr. Alan Christianson, a naturopathic doctor, reminds us that the key is to keep our body moving. Our blood gets thick and stagnant when we don't. We need muscle movement in addition to our heart pumping to keep all our fluids circulating well. When we sit for longer than 45 minutes at a time, our brain productivity goes down.
Anything that is good for the heart, is good for the brain. Increasing blood flow to the brain delivers more oxygen to it, among other things. That extra blood flow also helps the brain with its detoxification processes. Think of it as taking out the garbage or the residues of our metabolic processes.
Moderate exercise is the ideal, as it diminishes the stress response and the release of cortisol, the stress hormone. Intense exercise heightens cortisol and is best done early in the day for that reason. Other great benefits of exercise are: increasing production of brain growth factor, which makes the brain work better; improves memory formation and memory function; decreases inflammation by calming down the immune system; makes your cells hungry for glucose and is a powerful insulin sensitizer; and improves mood by stimulating release of the 'feel good' chemicals in the brain.
What's the best kind of exercise? Really, it's whatever type you enjoy and will do regularly. Consistency and regularity are key. Having an exercise buddy or going to some kind of scheduled class is helpful for some people, but if that's not your thing, doing something on your own is effective too; anything that gets you moving in a variety of ways. The recommended standard is 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week.
Here's another approach for those who find it hard to get out and do an activity for 30 minutes a day. Just breaking up our sedentary routines with several little patterns of movement throughout the day can give you as much benefit as an hour at the gym. Dr. Christianson suggests the following. Every 50 minutes throughout the day, get up from sitting and do this cycle of movement. Swing your arms back and forth vigorously twelve times. Rotate your torso six times each way. Do six deep diaphragmatic breaths. Go look out a window at the horizon and then back to your hand six times. Shake each leg out vigorously. Get more water and use the bathroom.
Sue Hitzman, creator of the MELT Method, also reminds us to tap into our basic sensorimotor patterns of movement. If you watch a baby move, they are doing so in all planes. As we grow, we unnaturally learn to primarily move our body in up/down and forward movement. Think of sitting, standing, walking. But it's also good for our body to rotate, move on diagonals and move in different directions. So, any kind of activity that incorporates these is good for our overall health too.
Thanks for reading! Now, get up and move around for a couple of minutes please.
Comments
Post a Comment