When asked how long do you want to live, the answer should include not only a number but a statement on quality of life. So how do we live longer with quality? New data is being published monthly confirming that longevity is 25% genetic and 75% lifestyle. Here’s a fact. Sitting is killing us. Computers were supposed to give us more leisure time, but instead we as a society are sitting more and spending more time at work and home in front of a computer. Standing desks are becoming popular, but in my opinion only a little better than sitting. We are meant to move. Life is motion. Standing in 1 place for hours at a time is not much better than sitting for hours at a time. I am more a fan of shaking it up. Sit for 20-30 minutes, get up and move/stretch, then stand for 20-30 minutes and then move/stretch again.
By now most everyone has heard the latest mantra, ”sitting is the new smoking”. The good news is that there is now an antidote for sitting. Its call exercise! That’s right. A new study, published in Lancet in September 2016 looked at the effects of mortality of people who sit 8 hours a day. The bottom line, after looking at one million people, following them from 2-18 years, it take 1 hour of moderate exercise to negate 8 hours of sitting as it relates to mortality. To quote the authors: “High levels of moderate intensity physical activity (ie, about 60–75 min per day) seem to eliminate the increased risk of death associated with high sitting time.”
Do you run? Maybe you should. A new study in Progress in Cardiovascular Disease from March 2017, concluded, “runners have a 25%-40% reduced risk of premature mortality and live approximately 3 years longer than non-runners”. It doesn’t matter if you run slowly or sporadically and smoke, drink or are overweight. This study compared running to other exercises, including cycling and swimming, and no other exercise was comparable running for the impact on life span.
What’s the best type of exercise? Another new study from Cell Metabolism, March 2017, compared exercise types in 2 different age groups; younger than 30 and older than 64. They were broken into 4 groups: 1) vigorous weight lifting only; 2) high intensity interval training; 3) moderate biking for 30 minute alternating days with light weight lifting; 4) and of course a control group.
Of course all of the 3 groups who exercised showed improvement in fitness and blood regulation. What they didn’t expect was how on a cellular level, the mitochondria of the High Intensity Interval Training group improved their ability to generate energy. Mitochondria are the power plants of our cells. Not only did the Mitochondria generate more energy, they were more of them and they were healthier than in every other group. This benefit was larger in the greater than 64 age group. The authors conclude that older people’s cells respond best to robust exercise.
What is the take away? If you sit, you need to exercise to live a long healthy life. If you have a full time job that requires sitting, you need to exercise 1 hour a day to negate the potentially detrimental effects of sitting on your body. Running prolongs life, up to 3 years that of none-runners! Any exercise is better than no exercise. High Intensity Interval Training helps you energy cells work better and should be part of your exercise regime. So the answer to the headline is to EXERCISE. Exercise is the key factor to living longer and healthier!
Spring has finally sprung! Now’s a great time to start exercising! Start slow and build up your endurance and strength. If you need advice on how to get started or if your body is physically fit to exercise, give us a call at 508-655-9008, or email me at: [email protected]NaticN