Exercise, Mental Health
It is remarkable how one’s wits are sharpened by physical exercise. – Pliny the Younger
The mind/body connection is really sticking with me this week!
Tuesday I shared information about a study suggesting a correlation between midlife physical fitness and dementia in later life. Today I’d like to take a look back at our late teens and a study that ‘shows a clear link between good physical fitness and better results for the IQ test’, particularly ‘for logical thinking and verbal comprehension’. Of course, since the researchers looked at data from 1950-1976 they were also able to compare the results of the fitness tests (taken while the young men were participating in Swedish national service) to socioeconomic status later in life. Guess what – ‘Those who were fit at 18 were more likely to go into higher education, and many secured more qualified jobs.’ So exercise makes you successful? 🙂
I have read several other articles that indicate that being physically fit (and making sure our brains get plenty of oxygen) positively affects our intelligence. This certainly turns the old stereotype of the ‘dumb jock’ on it’s ear doesn’t it? Although I’ve known plenty of smart athletes in my time.
Incidentally, the study says that ‘youngsters who improve their physical fitness between the
ages of 15 and 18 increase their cognitive performance’ so if you have teenagers who are getting a little sedentary ask them to join you on your next walk.
(I could NOT find the actual study but one of the articles I used for my research is here)
Mental Health, Quality of Life
I recently ran across this post on the UNC Health Care blog and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.
A recent Finnish study shows a correlation between fitness at midlife and risk of developing dementia; ‘Study subjects who reported their fitness levels at age 50 as “poor” were four times more likely to develop dementia over the next three decades vs. those who rated their fitness levels as “good”.’
This really bothered me, mostly because I have witnessed how awful Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are – both for those living with the disorders and for their families. I currently have a friend who is courageously living with this type of disorder (yes, I like to hang out with people a few years my senior) and watching her fight for her words and independence breaks my heart.
I think that losing control of my mind and body in this way may be one of my biggest fears and even the slightest hint of ‘mom fog’ scares me to death. I’m just now entering the last leg before ‘mid-life’ and I could absolutely up my game with regard to my fitness level (so many excuses). So, I have to honestly assess my current habits and where following that road is likely to end up. If upping my fitness (and probably cleaning up my diet) will help me stay sharp as an octogenarian, then give me space so I can do my push-ups and pass the salad bowl pretty please (just don’t make me do Sudoku – I hate numbers)!
Lifestyle, Nutrition
There is a tendency in our culture to expect maximum return with minimal investment.
Fast food … Texting … Weight loss … Love …
If something’s going to happen I expect it to happen NOW.
The Minute Movement® program won’t give you that. The focus of this program is not immediate, drastic transformation. While we completely recommend that you work to the point of burnout during each movement, we don’t want you pushing yourself to the point of actual burnout. The focus of this program is creating positive lifestyle changes that really are sustainable for the rest of your life.
The type of fitness program that results in 60 pounds of weight loss in 90 days are not typically sustainable for the rest of your life.
Why not?
Well, for one thing they’re very time consuming. You are usually required to hit the gym for a minimum of 30 minutes, five days each week. While this type of program can be fun and rewarding and is completely doable when you’re single and work a 9 to 5 job – it doesn’t translate well to the way many of us are actually living our lives. Then you have the diet portion of these programs – which are typically very, very intense.
So, even if you are a person who can fit the workouts into your schedule and won’t have anyone complaining about chicken breast for dinner every night; you may still find yourself feeling exhausted or deprived and eventually reverting to old habits.
Minute Movement is about changing your life – and the way you look at your life. So, while you might not see miraculous changes every time you step on the scales (and we don’t recommend putting too much power in that number anyway) you can be confident you are creating positive habits that you can sustain for the rest of your life.
Lifestyle
Habits.
For some reason, whenever I think of the word habits, I think of negative habits – that i should give up or stop doing.
I love that this clip (only four minutes) by Gretchen Rubin focuses on positive habits – particularly ‘foundational habits’ (sleep, proper nutrition, movement, and uncluttering) and how those habits prepare you mentally and physically to tackle your more lofty aspirations.
As a busy mom and entrepreneur, I find that the first thing to go is usually self care. In fact, if I were being totally honest, I might even say I take some amount of pride in sacrificing myself for the family or the creative process. As a result I seem to be constantly struggling with these baseline habits. I’m worst about getting enough sleep – so I think I’ll focus on good sleep habits this month.
What foundational habit(s) do YOU need to incorporate into your life?
Motivation
I was cleaning up a hard drive tonight and ran across this story that I thought you might enjoy with some key features about getting old. I’m not sure who the author is but it is worth the read!
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.
I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.
She said, ‘Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?’
I laughed and enthusiastically responded, ‘Of course you may!’ and she gave me a giant squeeze.
‘Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?’ I asked.
She jokingly replied, ‘I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids…’
‘No seriously,’ I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
‘I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!’ she told me.
After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.
We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this ‘time machine’ as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.
Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I’ll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor.
Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, ‘I’m sorry I’m so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I’ll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know.’
As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, ‘We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.
There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.
We have so many people walking around who are dead and don’t even know it!
There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.
If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don’t do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.
Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets.
The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.’
She concluded her speech by courageously singing ‘The Rose.’
She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives. At the year’s end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.
One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.
Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it’s never too late to be all you can possibly be.
When you finish reading this, please send this peaceful word of advice to your friends and family, they’ll really enjoy it!
These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.
REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL. We make a Living by what we get, We make a Life by what we give.
God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage. If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
We can learn so much from Rose I hope you have.
