Sarah’s Health Notes: exercise helps your mood – and pretty much everything else
Falling out of bed and going off to muck out my horses at weekends – and feed them, change their rugs and put them out in their paddock via a sticky muddy track - isn’t always my idea of a perfect morning but golly, do I feel good as I trek up the hill on the way back. When I have help with the horses on weekdays, I make myself do some yoga stretches and even throw myself around to a catchy tune for a few minutes. My rebounder’s in storage but I used to do that pretty well every morning and it’s brilliant. (Memo to self: get it out of storage!)
Everything in the world moves and so should we. A consultant gynaecologist once said to me that if exercise were a drug, it would be the blockbuster we should all take. (It could be as effective as HRT for menopausal symptoms.) And guess what the usually conservative NHS calls it? ‘The miracle cure we’ve all been waiting for.’
But, the website entry on nhs.uk warns, ‘for too long we’ve neglected to take our recommended dose and our health is suffering as a consequence’. The Government describes inactivity – sitting at your screen, say, or watching TV for hours on end – as a ‘silent killer’. Some experts have said that a sedentary lifestyle is as harmful as smoking.
Exercise benefits all ages. There’s strong scientific evidence that people who exercise regularly have a lower risk of developing many chronic conditions, including heart disease, stroke, cancer and type 2 diabetes, also osteoarthritis. And it can lower your risk of early death by up to 30%. And, while what you eat is vital, exercise can help overcome the current obesity epidemic.
What’s also clear is that exercise helps our minds and brains as much as our bodies. Physical activity boosts self-esteem, mood, sleep quality and energy, as well as reducing your risk of depression, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. It also helps you think clearly and focus better. And a recent review showed that exercise was as effective as antidepressants for mild to moderate depression.
Feeling low? Go for a walk – with a friend if that’s possible so you get the social side of exercise too. Cycle or swim if that’s your bag. But we’re not talking about running marathons or playing competitive sports (though great if that’s your thing). It’s just a question of moving… You know how good you feel when you’ve been for a yomp in the fresh air. Or if the rain is teeming down, simply dancing round the kitchen, marching on the spot or running up and down stairs.
There are lots of ways of adding in exercise so you hit the recommended target of at least 150 minutes of physical activity over a week, doing a range of different things. Have meetings while you walk, as one businesswoman I know does – taking her team for walks along the river instead of sitting in a meeting room. Stand and walk around while you’re on the phone. Try to go by foot instead of driving. Try a standing desk for work.
For anyone who needs more motivation, don’t forget the beauty benefits. Exercise helps keep your weight down and tone your body. The extra oxygen makes your eyes sparkle and cheeks rosy pink. And you should find your skin looks clearer too, as exercise helps your digestive system work more smoothly – and that directly affects your skin.
So take a break and get moving! Do it now. Do it forever!
