Regular Exercise Helps Slow And Even Reverse The Effects Of Aging

Exercise Keeps Us Young

Exercise improves our mental functions such as recall, learning and abstract reasoning. Physical activity may even help prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.Exercise is the single best prescription for keeping our brain functioning at its highest level.

Exercise can help reverse or stave off poor health, however there are aspects of aging that do decline. As we age, we lose muscular strength and mass. Age does reduce our endurance and strength even if we exercise routinely.

All said, there is no doubt that being physically active helps your body and mind offset the effects of aging.  

No matter how old you are or what you like to do for exercise, use these simple secrets to move better, protect yourself from injury, and feel younger.

1. Posture
   You squat all the time, so it’s essential that you do it properly. For women, that means turning your toes out slightly. This simple fix allows your femur to line up properly in the hip joint, causing your knees to track over your ankles instead of caving in. The result: a stronger knee joint and less chance of knee pain.

2. Resistance Training
   Resistance training reverses the aging process at the genetic level. Resistance training preserves muscle mass that we typically lose as we age.  

3. Reaction Training: Engage Your Brain
   The more activity you can do that also engages your brain, the better. Reaction training such as tennis or racquetball, kickboxing, dance classes or Zumba help improve the connection between the right and left hemispheres of your brain. This will prolong or even deter memory or balance issues.  

4. Aerobic Activity Is Good For Your Heart
   Aerobic activity improves mitochondrial function (the work of energy-producing organelles in cells), which typically decreases with age. Interval training is one of the most efficient ways to exercise at high enough levels to improve aerobic fitness. And that’s good for your heart.

5. Embrace High-Impact Activity
   To counter the everyday trauma to your body you need to start consciously thinking about conditioning your body. Take forceful steps any time you lunge, squat, or walk. This will help build bone density and help absorb the shocks that you regularly encounter every day.

Walking is so good for you, in fact anything that gets the heart rate up a bit helps offset other things like depression, anxiety, mood and energy levels. So, get out of that chair, and get out there and keep yourself in good physical shape.

To learn more about how physical therapy can help you maintain good health as you age, set up a free exploratory examination with one of our doctors today.

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Moriarty Physical Therapy is the premier physical therapist provider here in the Hudson Valley with centers located near you. To find out more about physical therapy or to book your first appointment with a physical therapist, visit our website at www.moriartypt.com or contact Moriarty Physical Therapy at (845) 454-4137.