Happy Wednesday! Today’s topic is exercise as medicine.
It’s very difficult to talk about exercise without talking about health. In fact, one definition of exercise is “activity requiring physical effort, carried out to sustain or improve health and fitness”.
I see exercise and health as opposite sides of the same coin. The health side of the coin is managed by medical professionals, such as doctors, dentists, therapists and others who ensure that everything is working well mentally, physically and emotionally. They mainly focus on what’s going on inside the body, so we don’t always see a physical manifestation of what they do. The exercise side of the coin is managed by fitness professionals, such as coaches, fitness instructors and personal trainers who are typically focused on physical condition, so we typically see concrete evidence of their work.
I don’t think it’s wise to separate the two because success in on one side begets success on the other side. In fact, there are tons of different medicinal benefits of exercise, but I will only focus on four in today’s post.
Medicinal Benefit #1: Exercise Calms the Mind
There was a time when I thought “information overload” was nothing more than a buzzword or catchphrase, something people said when they were trying to sound scholarly. When I was in college, I learned that information overload is real. High school was really easy for me, so I never really studying. College was a totally different story. During my first two years, I had a habit of studying for hours at a time with no breaks. As a result, I would get to the point where my brain simply couldn’t function. My mind was swimming with so many facts that I wasn’t able to think straight. I couldn’t even participate in a conversation about what type of pizza I ordered, and that’s not an exaggeration. I couldn’t figure out how to make it settle down. Since I didn’t know what else to do, I went on brisk walks, and it didn’t take very long for my mind to return to its calm state.
Medicinal Benefit #2: Exercise Reduces Stress
Although this benefit may not seem much different from the previous benefit, they are quite different. Stress can be defined as physical or mental pressure, agony or anxiety. Some people take anti-depressants and other forms of medications to help them cope with stress, but Harvard Medical School stated that exercise is physical stress that can relieve mental stress by releasing endorphins in the body. In other words, exercise can lift your mood and simply make you feel better. If you’re on medication, continue taking that medication, but be sure to let your doctor know that you’ve started exercising in the event that the levels need to be adjusted.
Medicinal Benefit #3: Exercise Positively Impacts Blood Pressure
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 75 million adults in the United State have high blood pressure or hypertension. Many of those individuals are on some type of medication to keep things under control. According to a recent report by the Mayo Clinic Staff, exercise makes your heart stronger, which allows it to pump blood with less effort, resulting in lower blood pressure. Exercise may not eliminate the need for medication, but who knows what could happen if you make exercise part of your daily routine.
Medicinal Benefit #4: Exercise Wakes You Up
One could argue that the final benefit isn’t quite fit with the others unless you consider caffeine a type of medication. I’m including it because there are countless people who truly believe that they simply cannot start their day or get through their afternoon without a dose of caffeine. I will readily admit that I’ve felt that way a time or two. However, a short quick bout of exercises pumps the blood and stimulates the mind, so that you no longer feel exhausted. If you’re having trouble starting your day, try doing ten jumping jacks shortly after you roll out of bed. Instead of grabbing your afternoon espresso when 2:00 pm hits, try taking a quick up and down a couple of flights of stairs at work. You might be surprised at how alert you are after a few minutes of exercise that gets your heart pumping.
HOPPING ON THE SCALE Don’t forget to hop on the scale and see where you are this week. Remember: if you were able to maintain and not gain, that’s a win!
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