By Sash Imura1
We have all heard of the importance of “staying active” as we get older. But what does it mean to “be active”, and how are we able to be active, especially as we get older, with the aches and pains of aging? Let’s first explore some reasons for the importance of staying “active”, or moving, regardless of age.
Sedentary life-styles pose numerous problems physically. Prolonged sitting, particularly in the elderly, slows down our circulation throughout the body. Blood can pool in the lower extremities with prolonged sitting, and the decreased circulation makes it more difficult for the body to move and clear the excess fluid from the lower extremities. Secondly, without the muscles contracting and relaxing, as they do with movement, the muscles become stiff and move less efficiently.
Imagine a car that hasn’t been driven in a very long time. The oil in the car lubricates the motor and helps the engine run smoothly and efficiently. But a car that has sat sedentary for a prolonged period of time takes a while to warm up and move, if efficiently at all. Our bodies are very similar. Regularly running the car lubricates the motor and gears, just as our body’s movement circulates blood flow throughout the muscles to lubricate the muscles, tendons, and joints.
Thus, being active increases our circulation, and circulation is controlled by the heart. Activity increases our heart’s ability to forcefully pump blood throughout the body-brining nutrient rich blood to the muscles, tendons and joints, and clearing excess waste built up in the muscles.
Lastly, physical activity stimulates the circulation of blood to the brain, and releases a number of hormones associated with mood and cognition.
So, what does it mean to “be active”? Is being active having to move for a set period of continuous time? Does it have to be standing, or involve resistance? There are numerous ways to answer this broad question.
Being active involves movement, and movement is caused by muscles contracting and relaxing, joints and tendons moving and sliding, and the heart pumping blood throughout the body at an elevated rate from a resting state. This does not always need to be weight bearing, nor is resistance always needed, as our body weight plus gravity provide resistance.
As for time, the theory of 20 minutes of activity is thrown out there as an ideal amount for “active time”. But what if you cannot sustain 20 continuous minutes of activity due to pain, injury, or disability? In general, regularly moving is key. Say you walked or did some physical activity for 20 min per day, but for the remaining 23 hours and 40 minutes of the day you were sedentary. Were you really physically “active”?
Conversely, what if you moved around-say walked your home for 5 minutes every hour of your waking day. Throughout the course of the day, you might accumulate 40 to 60 minutes of walking. For a sedentary or elderly person, this might be more activity than they get in a typical day.
As we continue to explore movement, and the importance of movement as we age, let’s pull off the veil of intimidation of what it means to be “active” and how we can achieve moving, and moving well throughout our day and lives. Sometimes, we just need a starting point. Can you spare 5 minutes every hour? Let’s get moving.
Please let us know if there are any health and wellness subjects that might interest you. Please consult your physician for personalized medical advice. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions regarding a medical condition
- Sash Imura is the Practice Manager at Japan Town Medical Group (JTMG). We are excited to provide our readers with a little information on staying active and healthy. Stay tuned for more articles from Sash. ↩︎
