I have to exercise in the morning before my brain figures out what I'm doing. ~Marsha Doble
What moves you to move more?
Being not especially fond of it, to boost motivation I need reminders of the incredibly good reasons to exercise. I know that being and staying active is absolutely necessary to good health; when exercising lessens, un-health and disease increases. Still it’s difficult for me to push myself to move more.
[Seems that it’s not easy for some others too: the average American gets 5000 steps a day which is half of the recommendation; a survey by the Physical Activity Council found that 28% of Americans say they are totally inactive. ]
In case a list of benefits of physical activity urges you also to move more, I’m sharing a few findings (some new to me) highlighted in this webmd.com overview.
*Changes fat cells for the better: in size, efficiency, and genetic structure.
Yeah, sure, fat cells shrink with caloric expenditures. But did you know, as this diabetes journal article says, that it also causes the cells to develop more energy-producing parts called mitochondria? With exercise nearly 4,000 genes in fat tissue change, stimulating metabolism.That means that fat tissue is burning more calories, even at rest.
*Improves vascular function.
Exercise, which causes blood to flow more swiftly and under greater pressure, realigns the endothelium cells that line blood vessels.
- “Michael D Brown, PhD, a professor of kinesiology and nutrition at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has discovered that when the body is inactive, the cells in the endothelium get sluggish and don’t sit in the vessel wall properly… After 12 hours post a single bout of exercise, cells have repositioned themselves to be in line with the flow of blood. This helps blood vessels work better, keeping them open and elastic, rather than stiff, narrow, and clogged. (Study of sedentary African Americans, publishedhere.)
*Preserves grey matter.
Older adults who have and active lifestyle have more gray matter in areas of the brain responsible for self-control, memory, and decision making. (MRI findings of 20 years of data, written about here)
*Cuts risk of diabetes.
In the Diabetes Prevention Program study, the exercise-more-eat-better group cut their risk of developing diabetes by about twice as much compared to the group taking medication (metformin, which helps the body respond better to the hormone insulin), compared to third group taking placebo pills. This Lancet article reports that diabetes incidence in the 10 years since original study was reduced by 34% (24–42) in the lifestyle group and 18% (7–28) in the metformin group compared with placebo.
*Beats out medications for some ailments.
It works as well or better than pills for depression. In other conditions, like Alzheimer’s and arthritis, it’s been shown to delay disability.
“It is exercise alone that supports the spirits, and keeps the mind in vigor.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero
Thankfully it’s been good weather where I live so it’s pleasant to be walking outside (about the only exercise I like). And I truly am grateful for a body that CAN move!
I hope for you too to find a few enjoyable ways to move more in this month. I wish you wellness in all your moments.
“At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain.
Later, of course, it pays off handsomely…”
Hebrews 12:11a The Message
The Rewards of Exercise
I go walking each day at first light,
for fitness and health it's just right.
But on the path that I take
I find coffee and cake
at the shop where I pause for a bite.
© Susan Henderson
