Hi Everyone!
Ever heard of the saying, “If you don’t use it, you lose it”?
Well, it’s true—for our brains and our bodies. And more and more research is proving it every single day.
Our sedentary lifestyles are really taking a toll on our health. Fewer than 25 percent of people meet the guidelines for physical activity, and fewer than 5 percent get 30 minutes of movement daily.
Not only does this lack of movement contribute to cardiovascular disease, depression, obesity, and type 2 diabetes, but it also decreases our life span.
This is a wake-up call to move. And guess what? It doesn’t always have to be super-intricate, high-intensity training.
New research is shedding light on just how powerful ONE form of simple movement can be for extending our life span.
Want to know what it is?
Keep reading…
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The Power of Stretching
We know that the longest-living populations have some commonalities among them, including unprocessed food, community, a sense of purpose, and daily movement.
In fact, if you watched the Blue Zones documentary, you might have seen that many of the centenarians and thriving community members were very flexible and very active.
Research has long confirmed that aerobic exercise and strength training are critical for our muscles, brains, and blood sugar, but what about simpler practices that we take for granted like stretching and maintaining flexibility?
A study published last year in BMC Public Health aimed to determine if there was a correlation between types of movement, including aerobic exercise, strength training, and flexibility, and risk of early death.
Researchers were not surprised to see evidence that aerobic exercise and strength training reduced the risk of all-cause mortality, but they were also able to determine that flexibility-based physical activity such as stretching was also inversely associated with all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality.
In fact, those who participated in some sort of flexibility-based activity five or more times a week had a 20 percent lower risk of dying according to this research!
While this study was quite large (38,943 participants between the ages of 20 and 79) there were some limitations, including how the data was obtained. Researchers used a questionnaire to report physical activity, which we know isn’t as reliable as other ways of tracking activity.
Even though correlation does not always equal causation, I think it’s pretty safe to assume here that stretching and flexibility-based exercises have some pretty substantial benefits, including promoting our longevity.
Stretching Is Underrated
How many of you take a workout class or ride your Peloton and skip the stretching portion? We often overlook the importance of maintaining flexibility, but maybe this research will have us pause to take the time to stretch.
Being flexible can improve our recovery time, balance, immunity, metabolism, breath, stress levels, anxiety, blood pressure, and even circulation.
I’ll admit that I did not start prioritizing stretching and flexibility exercises until I was in my thirties, but now I recognize how important it is and how much better and more nimble I feel when my body feels flexible!
So here are some flexibility and stretching exercises you can start implementing today to reduce your risk of disease and improve your overall health.
- Yoga has so many powerful benefits, including improving our flexibility and balance. If you’re new to yoga, don’t be intimidated. Anyone can start today, regardless of their flexibility and balance. Here’s a great video for beginners.
- Qigong, a type of martial art, is an incredible way to calm your nervous system, improve blood pressure, and you guessed it, stretch! If you want to calm your mind and your body, check out this 15-minute qigong exercise.
- Pilates is another way to stretch your body and use smaller muscles that you might not activate daily. Here’s a beginner Pilates video.
- Simple stretching. This one is my favorite. I like to take a few minutes at the end of each day to sit on my floor and do some simple stretching exercises. Sometimes I use a foam roller or a resistance band. Sometimes I just use my body and follow basic videos like this one.
It’s never too late to start to incorporate stretching and flexibility into your life! I guarantee that if you do it safely, you’ll feel physically and mentally stronger!
Here’s to your health,
Dhru Purohit