Be active always
To live and enjoy your life fully, you need to be physically and
mentally active. Yes, we all are actively living our life, doing our things, and finishing our tasks on time. But, it is equally important for everyone to be
moving their hands and limbs and doing some or other activity always.
To take out time from the daily
rigours of life and working on your mind and body is the key. In fact, staying
active sometimes can be quite an eye-opener. You begin to find out how strong
or weak your body is. How fast or slow your limbs move or how long it takes you
to solve a puzzle.
Why you need to be active
1. Young or old everyone
needs a strong heart and strong muscles to use oxygen efficiently. If you are fit
and your muscles are strong, you will feel less breathlessness doing everyday
work like climbing stairs, doing household work or even walking.
2. Being active
can improve your brain health, and keep your mind sharp and active. An
active mind and body can make anyone lead a blissful life.
3. You can help manage
your weight, reduce the risk of diseases, make your bones and muscles strong,
and improve your ability to do everyday activities with ease if you are active.
4. The daily activity
you do can have immediate and long-term health benefits the most important one
is that regular activity can improve your quality of life.
5. Indulging in physical
and mental activity helps improve your mood and removes the symptoms of anxiety
and depression.
6. As you age the absence of activeness in life, declines the ability to
think, learn and make decisions. If you stay active you can delay and manage
your old age well.
7.
Physical activity prevents or delays diseases, such
as heart disease, diabetes, or osteoporosis.
How to be physically active every day
If you are a kid, who likes to play, jump, run, dance and cycle
around then you are having a sufficient amount of activity time at your disposal.
But, if most of your time passes sitting in front of your television, or study
desk or playing mobile games then you need to change your daily routine and
start to become physically active.
If you are a young adult, you need to devote at least 150 minutes of the
week or 30 minutes per day to physical activity. Depending on your age, body
type, strength and fitness level, you need to push yourself daily to be active.
This will ensure your vitals function at their best. You will find
yourself happy and bouncing with energy.
If you are an elderly then it is essential that you make physical
activity an
important part of your daily routine. Older adults should be as active as
possible and realize that exercise can help them live a longer and healthier
life. For older individuals exercise helps them to prevent injury, improve
strength, improve balance, provide energy and prevent falls.
It
is safe for most adults over 65 years old to exercise. Even most patients who
have chronic illnesses can exercise safely. These illnesses include
heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and
arthritis. Many of these conditions are improved with exercise. If you are not
sure if exercise is safe for you or if you are currently inactive, ask your
doctor.
Best ways to stay active.
1. Start doing aerobics activities, such
as brisk walking, swimming or dancing, which will raise your heart rate and improve the circulation of oxygen around the body.
2. Include activities to improve
muscles and bone strength, such as climbing stairs, carrying shopping or
children, waka ama or digging in the garden.
3. Sit less, move more, especially for
long periods, at your computer or in front of the TV. Break up sitting and move for
at least a few minutes every hour, preferably more.
4.
Jogging, biking faster than 16km per hour, dance,
aerobics, fast lap and swimming is the best way to stay active.
5.
Young people can do muscle-strengthening activities
for all 5 major muscle groups (arms, legs, chest, abdominals, and back).
7. Move as
much as possible during the day, walk, take the stairs, and do housework to
raise your heart rate. Look for challenges and have fun walks or runs. . Taking the stairs has significant
cardiovascular benefits and can burn more calories than jogging.
8. Tracking your steps with a fitness
tracker, smartwatch, smartphone or pedometer is an easy way to ensure you’re
getting enough activity in each day. Start by tracking your steps for one day,
then try to slowly improve that number until you’re walking at least 10,000
steps every day.
How to
stay mentally active every day
Forgetfulness is something which we generally experience when we are not
careful to listen to things properly. It is also related to the ability of our
brain to remember things as the ageing process starts.
Ageing also has an impact on concentration and attention span. But the ageing
of the brain can be improved and delayed by keeping yourself mentally active. Deterioration
and age-related memory problems will occur but keeping yourself mentally and physically
fit and active will definitely make you feel better. You can take measures like-
Healthy food
Fatty fish, yoghurt, eggs, dark chocolates, blueberries, pumpkin seeds
and nuts are some of the food to boost your brain health. Stop taking cakes,
pasta, sugary food and sugary drink as they are bad for brain health.
Regular exercise
Keep yourself active and do regular exercise or jogging, walking or
aerobics to keep your brain healthy. Exercise for half an hour at least three
times a week.
Mind workout
For a mind workout, you can try these:
1.
Take time out to enjoy a daily puzzle or the
crossword.
2.
Use the option of mental arithmetic rather than using
the calculator.
3.
Make a habit of reading more – perhaps by joining
or starting a book club.
4.
Play mind-stretching games, like bingo, bridge,
chess or computer games.
5.
Stay socially active and join a local music or dance group or start a
gardening club.
6.
Learn to knit or embroider, even gardening is good
for the brain.
7.
Join a course whether it is a day or evening class, and make your mind intellectually stimulated.
8.
Plan to go out with your friends – enjoy movie time,
theatre and galleries.
9.
Meditation will calm your mind and keep stress and
anxiety away.
Importance
of staying active in later life.
Staying
active can always help in later life. It lowers your risk of heart disease,
stroke, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer. Staying active also improves your
strength and balance so you can prevent injuries and stay independent. It lowers your aches and pain and you can really feel good.
As you grow
older regular physical activity is one of the most important things you can do
for your health. It also helps your muscles grow stronger so you can keep
doing your day-to-day activities without becoming dependent on others.
Taking care of your physical and mental health requires you to stay active. It also involves besides staying active, making healthy food choices, getting enough sleep, limiting your alcohol intake, and proactively managing your health care. Small changes in each of these areas can go a long way to supporting healthy ageing.
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