Keeping Active...

We’ve all heard the often-repeated advice that we need to move our bodies and exercise if we want to maintain our health and fitness. It makes perfect sense. We didn’t evolve to sit for hours every day, hunched in front of a flickering computer screen, barely moving and hardly breathing. Not a great formula for maintaining our wellbeing. In fact, the research shows that, even at an advanced age, our bodies respond very positively to exercise. It seems that evolution equipped us to be very adept at covering long distances in order to search for food and shelter. Our bodies haven’t changed much in the last fifty thousand years so we can all appreciate that movement and exercise can provide a natural pathway to better health and fitness. It’s a simple adage but a great one to stamp on your daily To Do List – Use it or lose it!

The same principle equally applies to our need to maintain or develop our flexibility. You don’t have to go to extremes but a few minutes of gentle, daily stretching will pay huge dividends in terms of maintaining your natural mobility. It’s a sobering conclusion but most people give up their favourite sports or exercise routines because the movements became too painful or uncomfortable. Flexibility is the great key to resolving these issues. You could add that, if everything’s connected, a more flexible body will encourage a more flexible mind. What do you think?

What might be surprising is that we need to treat our brains like a muscle too. The same research that demonstrated amazing physical progress when older people took up gentle, regular exercise revealed marked cognitive improvements when the same individuals were introduced to mental exercises.

The message is very clear: give your mind a regular workout to maintain peak mental performance. We know that studying a new language or learning to play a musical instrument can be very rewarding. But the hidden advantage is that these activities are excellent ways to stimulate brain function at any age. Find ways to stimulate your mind that are not related to your daily work activities. Find new ways to challenge your mental prowess. The fact is that medical science is advancing average lifespans across the world. We need to ensure that we’re physically and mentally fit enough to take full advantage of these amazing developments and enjoy all the benefits of longevity.

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