Reading a column in my newspaper that was written by Dr. Mike Roizen who offers medical advice in a weekly column. Dr. Roizen is the chief wellness offer and chairman of he Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live you healthiest, visit shareware.com. A recent column written by Dr. Roizen was titled: 3 signs that you aren't active enough. It said that when it comes to the benefits of physical activity, the list stretches from A (for attitude improvement) to Zzzz (for better sleep). Unfortunately, only about of 1/4 of adults gets the recommended minimum of 150 minutes or aerobics and two strength-building sessions weekly. Do you? I, for one, do not get that amount of physical activity, though I tend to stay active each and every day for most of the time that I am awake. Cleaning, shopping, walking and even a few hours of table pool a day tend to keep me busy and out of my chair most every day. But, I don't spend time doing aerobics, since my bad back limits me to certain physical activities. There are certain signs that will tell you if you are getting enough physical activity on a daily basis. They are:
1. You're feeling blue. Being sedentary increases depression. According to a 2019 study, if you replace 15 minutes of sitting with 15 minutes of running or an hour of brisk walking, you can decrease your risk of depression by 26%. Because of my back I find it hard to run, but I do tend to get quite a bit of walking in during the week. I live in a retirement community and I walk from my villa to the activity building where I play pool quite a few days a week for perhaps 2 to 3 hours a few days a week.
2. You can't fall asleep easily. According to John Hopkins Medicine, lack of activity makes it difficult to fall asleep and enjoy good quality sleep. But 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise can give you better sleep. For me, I have no trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. After a busy day of physical activity and helping around the house, I tend to fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. And, I tend not to awaken until the sun comes up in the sky the next morning. Only time I awaken is when I find it necessary to make a bathroom visit.
3. Your joints are achy. Knees gotta bend, hips gotta extend. But, many folks are sitting five-plus hours and are sedentary for almost 10 hours every day. Gentle stretching and activities that move joints through their full range of motion improve flexibility and relieve discomfort. The initial twinges you might feel when beginning to exercise will fade and you'll become more agile and have fewer aches and pains. The reward: increased healthy longevity - about nine years' worth for women; eight for men. For more tips, tune into fitness info in LongevityPlaybook.com's free newsletter and check out iHerb.com's blog, "More Movement May Increase Longevity - Here's Why."
If you are like me...I find it hard to sit more than an hour at any one time. I just have to be doing something. Even writing the blog stories that I post tend to get me moving from typing to stretching from time to time and heading to the fridge for something to eat or drink keep me active. While writing this story I will probably make a trip to the fridge to get something to drink and maybe a dish of ice cream and then make a visit to see what our two cat might be doing. If it is in the evening....I will be visiting the fridge for a snack and drink as well as checking to make sure the doors and windows are closed and locked and the lights are off in the garage, spare bedroom and porch. And then there is that evening snack as I write my blog stories. Always on the move. Weekends always seem to find us traveling to visit friends and relatives as well as taking a trip to the local park or perhaps a relatives home. I find I have no trouble with the numbered paragraphs at the start of this story. Only problem I do have is when my Phillies play a day game or evening game. I find it hard to pull myself away from the TV, but that is only during spring/summer time and not the rest of the year. I tend to stay busy most of every day. I try and help around around the house as well as play with the two cats we have. But, since we have moved to a retirement community, I find I don't have to do the outdoor chores as I used to do. But, I now seem to have more energy and don't have the pain in my back and legs that I used to have when living in a single family home that needed attention all the time. I do try and get about 8 hours of sleep each night, but sometimes that doesn't happen since our two cats tend to want to play when they are ready and not when I am ready. Even with a bad back, I do stay active as much as possible. I'm not the type of person who can sit for hours at a time. I must be doing something or I go nuts. And....that's exactly why I began writing srories and writing this blog. I have added at least 10 more words per minutes in the last 10 years while writing this blog. Yeah, I might have a few more mistakes, but no one ever wrote to me about it. So, I hope you can fine a few stories that you find interesting from time to time. I most certainly enjoy writing them. Yours truly, LDub.
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