Keep Moving for Longevity

For Longevity, Keep Moving!

For Longevity, Keep Moving!

BY MONYA COHEN

“Any type of movement is like Miracle-Gro for the brain.” 

~  John Ratey, MD

My maternal grandmother, Win, was born in 1918. She was my inspiration and ahead of her time when it came to being physically active. We lived in a small town where she rode her bike and walked briskly whenever she could. She bicycled to and from work each day, as well as riding home to fix lunch for my grandfather. She often took long bike rides in the evenings. I recall riding bicycles as a family on Sundays — riding 9 miles to the nearest town, stopping for a Dairy Queen, and riding nine miles home. Her love for physical activity continued into her later years when she walked on the track, continued to ride her bike and swam two miles a day. My grandmother carried on her passion for movement until she died in her 90’s. Unfortunately, her parts wore out before she did.

There is abundant research to support how movement extends our lifespan and health span. Physical activity has numerous benefits. Exercise improves mental wellness and maintains our cognitive and physical functioning more than sleep and nutrition. Currently, there are podcasts, YouTube videos and books, all focusing on the importance of movement.

A recent literary publication, Outlive, written by Peter Attia, MD, explores the science behind living longer and healthier lives through the prevention versus management of disease. He describes exercise as the “most potent longevity drug,” and believes exercise has a significant impact on how we live our lives. Movement, even a minimal amount each day, can decrease physical decline and improve brain health. He describes the impact of movement on preventing Alzheimer’s disease by helping to maintain glucose levels and the circulatory system of the body. Dr. Attia breaks exercise down into its most important parts: Stability, strength, aerobic efficiency and one’s peak aerobic range. According to the data, not all exercise is created equally and there are many ways to outlast and outlive.

One important form of movement is strength training. It is important to build both muscle and strength. There is research to demonstrate that the greater one’s grip strength the lower their risk for dementia. Steady endurance exercise improves mitochondrial efficiency, which includes high cortisol levels due to stress. Endurance exercise helps target regions of the brain responsible for cognition and memory. Exercise helps to lower inflammation and oxidative stress.

Another form of movement is Yoga. If you are moving and breathing, you are practicing Yoga. The movement component of Yoga is a Western invention. Originally, the postures were a place to hold the body during meditation. Western society integrated movement into group Yoga classes, and this morphed into what we know today as Yoga. For me, I love the rhythm and flow that breath and movement provide. Consistent Yoga practice has helped me to develop strength, build bone, and maintain flexibility and balance. The practice of Yoga has literally saved my life by improving my spinal health and mental wellness.

You may have heard of the Blue Zones, five countries in the world where people often live well into their 80’s, 90’s and 100’s without obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Surprisingly, their exercise routines do not include rigorous schedules at the gym. Rather, these folks incorporate movement in their daily lives. For example, taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Parking the car further away from the store. Gardening, cleaning, walking, bicycling and more.

Living a sedentary lifestyle, or inactivity, is considered the new “smoking.”  Movement has countless benefits of extending lifespan and health span, and improving emotional and psychological health. If you haven’t incorporated movement into your daily routine yet, you are never too young or too old to begin.