14 Sep Activity – The Tonic Of Life.

An article in The Age recently quoted that recent studies found that it only took 15minutes of exercise per day to add 3 years onto your life. 20minutes per day added 7 years!

Wow – that sounds easy!

But where’s the catch? Am I restricted to only certain types of activity? High intensity? Does recreational count?

The good news is that the research showed that any activity will work!

The studies also found that incidental activity, walking to the station to catch the train for work every day, has a higher rate of success than formal programs such as gym sessions. In addition, people who wore monitoring devices, such as a Fitbit, became more active. We are a very competitive species after all.

So what does the activity achieve and how does it work?

Movement stimulates your blood flow. This brings nutrition and oxygen to our cells. It also assists in flushing out toxins that are filtered and excreted. Activity can therefore prevent disease and help maintain and improve a whole host of bodily functions.

As far as exercise is concerned, the best results were found in people who did something gentle every day. This showed more benefit than shorter, high intensity sessions. This is great news for our older generation. The other important finding that emerged, was that the effects of exercise were cumulative over the years and decades.

So our take home message is very clear. If you don’t exercise, you need to start right now. And if you already do, keep going on a regular basis. Your life depends on it!

Written by: Nigel Mitchell, Physiotherapist – B App Sc (Physiotherapy), Post Graduate Diploma Manipulative Therapy

Original article:

https://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/move-the-one-thing-you-can-do-to-live-better-for-longer-20210825-p58lvi.html