Actress Jennifer Garner is reportedly a huge fan of the “movement is medicine” adage. When she’s feeling down or worn, she might take time to cry, but soon she starts moving to help herself feel better.
This approach is wise, according to numerous studies. Just walking five minutes each hour can provide benefits to your mental and physical health, while more strenuous aerobic exercise and weight training can protect against dementia, reduce anxiety and depression, and lower the risk of more than a dozen types of cancer. Exercise reduces inflammation in our bodies and can even help people avoid diabetes.
Since our bodies weren’t designed to sit as much as the modern world can require, it’s important to find ways to help our bodies thrive despite too much time spent on the computer or couch. For example, remind yourself that each long stint of sitting reduces the blood flow to your legs, which over time can increase the build-up of plaque in your arteries, and eventually lead to heart disease. The reminder might inspire you to stand up, touch your toes, and walk to the kitchen for a drink of water. It’s important to try to find ways to change the sitting pattern, whether it’s by taking a stroll after a long commute or going for a walk while making necessary phone calls. People with myriad diseases, ranging from arthritis to Parkinson’s disease, benefit from standing and moving, and you will too.
For caregivers, who may feel like they’re already running around to take care of a loved one each day, the advice to add in some exercise may not feel welcome. Yet, exercise can be something that a caregiver and loved one enjoy together. Even a small amount of exercise is beneficial. Dancing, walking, and house cleaning can all be classified as exercise, and strangely enough, if caregivers realize that the work that they do every day for their loved ones is also exercise, they can actually receive more benefits from it.
So, consider: how can you and your loved one add more movement into your day? And how can you gain a new appreciation of the exercise that you’re already doing?
1) Amp Up Awareness
Take a look at your days. Are you dashing around the grocery store, doing loads of laundry, or helping your loved one get out of bed? All of that is exercise. Try wearing a fitness-tracker wristband to monitor your heart rate. You may find that gathering laundry, hefting it to the washer, folding clothes, and divvying them up into dresser drawers gets your heart pumping more than you realized. Even without a new device, you can check your pulse by hand and notice whether your heart is working a little harder after you finish a chore. You may find that you’re exercising quite a bit already.
2) Amp Up Your Effort
It’s possible to enhance the exercise that you already get by reimagining your daily chores. For example, if you take your loved one for a slow stroll in the backyard, you can swing your arms, even while standing still, which will increase both the walk’s aerobic effects and eventually the muscle strength in your arms, chest, and back. The same swinging can be done while walking through the grocery store, taking the dog out, or moving around the house. You can also encourage your loved one to do the same, which can be a simple way to improve their health.
3) Amp Up Your Creativity
While it’s wonderful to go to a Pilates class or hire a personal trainer, many of us have trouble making that regular time commitment. So, get creative. While you’re sautéing vegetables at the stove, pick up a can in each arm and lift them over your head 15 times. If you’re waiting at the doctor’s office for your loved one to finish an appointment, pull your stomach muscles inward as far as you can and then release them. Do that 15 times. Or clench your thighs and glutes for 10 seconds. Then repeat. See if you can do so without anyone in the waiting room noticing. Or if you’re watching television, turn the ad breaks into exercise breaks
You’ll find that the more you exercise, the better you feel. In fact, if you notice an ache or pain, try letting that be a clue that you need to move or stretch, and see if that helps you feel better. If you can work your loved ones into your exercise experiments, both of you will likely feel improved strength, enhanced cognition, and other health benefits. So, get moving. Even 10 minutes a day will make a difference, and as the benefits multiply, you may find that you get more and more enjoyment out of adding more exercise to your life.
Thank you for reading, please share with a friend, and be well! —KK
We are grateful to be celebrating our 10th year of helping caregivers in need and to be supported by the many generous and caring friends who have helped make a difference in so many lives.
Please consider donating to the Kathi Koll Foundation so you can help make a difference in struggling family caregivers’ lives. Thank you!
Hero Image: Yoga Frogs | Pixabay