Fitness Motivation

How much exercise is enough to get these benefits? The rule of thumb is about 3-4 times a week of exercise for a minimum of 30 min exercise session. Aerobic exercise is important to get your heart rate up, and this can be as simple as walking around your neighborhood or vacuuming! “Exercise will not only help you feel good today, but protect your brain from incurable diseases, and in this way it will change the trajectory of your life for the better.”

Exercise has Immediate effects on the brain, single workout will immediately increase dopamine, serotonin, and increase mood. Research has shown that a single workout can improve ability to shift and focus attention lasting 2 hours and reaction times. Exercise actually changes the brain’s anatomy, physiology, and function. The hippocampus produces brand new brain cells as it increases in volume, thus improving long term memory. In order to get the long lasting results, you must exercise regularly.

The biggest reason why people said that they don’t exercise is that they claim that they do not have time. There are 168 hours in a week, and you only need roughly 2 hours a week for the medical recommended amount of physical fitness activity. Another obstacle is lack of motivation. Physical fitness is more about our mental failures than our physical failures, meaning it is more about your attitude than your body’s abilities. How do you win the psychological battle of getting ourselves to exercise consistently? You make it a lifestyle. It is actually easier to work out 7 days a week than 3 days a week because 3 days a week is too many decisions. If you work out first thing in the morning you have a 300% more percent change of getting it done than at any other time of the day because you have more control over your schedule first thing in the morning. Try to make it just 20 min, the longer you design the workout, the less likely you are to do it.

On National Fitness Day, Private Home Health Care promotes fitness and regular exercise as part of a healthy, happy lifestyle!

National Fitness Day

May 1st was National Fitness Day. We have all heard that fitness is good for your health, but did you know that fitness is very important for brain health and function as well?

Exercise is one of the most transformative things that you can do for your brain. Dr. Wendy Suzuki is a neuroscientist and leading researcher in neurology. Dr. Suzuki’s work provides scientific evidence that exercise has immediate, long lasting, and protective benefits for your brain!

There are three proven reasons how exercise can improve your brain function:

1. Immediate effects on your brain – a single workout will immediately increase the feel-good chemicals in your brain like dopamine and serotonin, which puts you in a good mood. It also improves your ability to shift and focus attention lasting 2 hours, as well as faster reaction times. However, you need to exercise regularly for long lasting results.

2. Exercise actually changes the brain’s anatomy, physiology, and function. With regular exercise over a long time span, the hippocampus actually produces new brain cells which makes it increase in volume. It also enhances your prefrontal cortex, which is the center in your brain for executive functioning that includes attention, focus, decision making, personality expression and aspects of speech and language.

3. With regular, long term exercise habits, you have long lasting improvement for attention, focus, mood, and long term memory.

Think about the brain as a muscle – the more you exercise, the stronger the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex become. This is important because the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex are the most susceptible parts of your brain to neurodegenerative disease and cognitive decline in aging. Unfortunately there is no cure for Alzheimer’s Disease or dementia. But with increased exercise over your lifetime, you are strengthening your brain and creating the strongest and biggest prefrontal cortex and hippocampus so it takes longer for these diseases to take effect. Dr. Suzuki calls regular exercise ‘a supercharged 401K for your brain’.

Private Home Health Care invites you to celebrate National Fitness Day by lacing up your sneakers and participating in your favorite form of exercise!

World Meningitis Day

World Meningitis Day is April 24, every year. The goal is to spread the word about meningitis, how to spot it and what causes it. It’s also a day to promote the importance of vaccines.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the fluid and membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. Meningitis continues to be a major global public health issue causing up to 5 million cases each year, including epidemics of new strains that spread between countries and across the world.

There are three main types of meningitis infection: bacterial, viral and environmental. Infection is by far the most common cause of meningitis and is caused by many different germs: viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites.

Meningitis can strike everyone and at all ages – it can be fatal within a few hours and cause lifelong disability. Aftereffects can be life-changing and may include: memory loss, deafness, loss of sight, epilepsy, paralysis, limb loss, organ damage, and brain damage.

Private Home Health Care reminds people to observe World Meningitis Day by learning more about meningitis and the importance of vaccines. Early detection and being immunized can save lives!!

4/20

Today is National Cannabis day, or “420”. As the name implies, is celebrated annually on April 20. It is an international celebration during which people come together to consume cannabis and advocate for its legalization. In Massachusetts, Cannabis has been legalized and is widely enjoyed as well as utilized for medicinal purposes.

The plant contains chemicals known as cannabinoids. Research indicates that cannabinoids have many health benefits. These include reducing anxiety and tension, reducing inflammation and pain relief, controlling nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy, stimulating appetite for people with serious medical conditions, usage as a muscle relaxant, aiding with seizures and even killing cancer cells. Cannabis in all forms, such as CBD, is beginning to be widely accepted as a mainstream therapeutic treatment. It is a myth that using cannabis means that you will get high. In fact, many people use over-the-counter topical CBD creams to help with arthritis or eczema.

Private Home Health Care supports the medically supervised usage of cannabis as a natural, alternative medical treatment for many ailments.

Eggs – A Superfood

National Eggs Benedict Day is on April 16 and it’s a day all about the special American dish. It consists of a poached egg, an English muffin, and Canadian bacon covered in Hollandaise sauce and it’s surrounded by a misconception. Some have assumed that the name originated from Benedict Arnold, the American Revolutionary War traitor, but its origins are up for debate.

Eggs are among the most nutritious foods on the planet. They are easy to eat, readily available and can be prepared dozens of ways. They are a good source of quality protein, Vitamin B2, Selenium, folate, and healthy fats. If you can get your hands on pastured or omega-3 enriched eggs, these are even better. They contain higher amounts of omega-3 fat and are much higher in vitamin A and E. Though eggs are high in cholesterol, they do not raise ‘bad’ cholesterol. In fact, they help increase ‘good’ cholesterol and have been linked to reduce risk of heart disease.

Private Home Health Care encourages you to celebrate National Eggs Benedict Day and enjoy this great dish!