Retirement Talk
WHAT to do with the rest of your life? |
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Episode 272(097) Exercise for the Brain
Doing crossword puzzles and studying a foreign language are
supposed to be good for the brain. Lots of retired folks do these things. My
wife does. I do computer stuff and study music thinking they might help. Plus,
I like those things. Now I find that if I really want to do something good for
my brain I would lace up my running shoes. No kidding. Exercise. Exercises like
big body movements are what really perk up the old brain.
This is Retirement Talk. I'm Del Lowery.
These podcasts are not based on research. When I started
this project I wanted to talk about what I knew and not what I could find out
on-line or in a library. Now a book jumps into my mind that I feel I must
discuss. The book concerns itself with exercise and the effect it has on our
bodies and our minds. I heard an interview with the author on the radio. It was
so intriguing that I got the book and have been mesmerized by it ever since.
My recent life experience illustrates the thesis of the book
perfectly. These past two weeks we took a road trip down the
Oregon
Coast
to rendezvous with our daughter and family. It was time for a "family
fix", especially a grandmother fix. The trip was great in every respect.
But when we returned home and stepped on the scales the following morning all
of the sins of the trip visually appeared. An extra five pounds had been added
to my weight. At my age, weight gain of this quantity in this short of time has
to be taken seriously.
We all read about the obesity that girds our waistlines and
our country. We are a nation of heavyweights. I recall our last trip to
Europe
and our shock in the American airport to which we
returned. We had spent a month in
Spain
and were not used to seeing
so many large people.
We have always included exercise as part of our daily
routine in life, especially in retirement. Our days always break at 11 a.m. for
some sort of moving around - biking, walking, rowing, or strength training.
Road trips are killers for exercise. Sitting in the car, it is easy to snack on
food when one would not normally be eating. Then there is the restaurant food
which is served in huge portions. One must constantly be on guard to not
consume it all. But, you are on holiday. You deserve to splurge a little bit.
So...gobble, gobble, gobble.
Then there is the daily exercise. We don't have our bicycles
with us on road trips. We can walk and we did. We walked some of
Oregon
's beautiful
beaches. However, time is ticking and road miles are not adding up when one
stops for an hour walk. We travel very slowly - it took us two full days to
drive five hundred miles. It isn't that we drive slowly. It is just that we
stop often: for coffee, a walk, photos, or food. We want to enjoy the trip. And
when we are with our extended family for a limited period of time the slot for
exercise in our daily lives many times gets omitted.
At the same time I have been reading this book by John Ratey
entitled "Spark".
It's an amazing story of the connection between exercise,
the mind, and the body. The book is filled with examples of people and the
results of what adding exercise to their lives has done. There are some big
medical or technical words used in the book but not enough to deter one from
just skipping over then and still getting the gist of the story. The book is
based on all of the research done over the last ten years in this field.
Ratey talks of the connection between exercise and total
health. What happens to us as a fetus because of our mothers' exercise or lack
of it? How does exercise affect our physical and mental growth and development
as a baby and small child? A large portion of the book deals with the impact of
exercise on depression and hyperactivity. He makes an incredible case that
exercise of the body really makes the brain grow. Yes, grow - that is, create
new cells.
For us retired people, boomers, and seniors the book is
especially relevant. As we age, our bodies and minds naturally start to change
in a direction most of us would not consider positive. However, for people who exercise regularly, the body and
the mind can be rejuvenated and reinvigorated by regular exercise. It's a very
persuasive argument. Not only does one get a new lease on life, but the
immediate effects on a daily basis can become a real boon to enjoying the
retirement years.
Most intriguing is this connection between physical exercise
and the brain. The common assumption is that exercise benefits the muscles and cardiovascular
system. This is true, but the effect exercise has on the emotional and mental
aspects of life is rarely discussed. One
of the lines from the book, as I recall, goes something like this, "If you
want to stay sharp mentally, you had better lace up your running shoes."
This is retirement talk.
A resource from a listener: Best Free Online Degrees for Seniors guide is designed to assist seniors who aspire to enhance their intellect or consider starting a new career path. It features an overview of the top online degrees for seniors, emphasizing their numerous advantages, and a broad range of subjects to choose from.
A friend's website: Terra Firma Designs: Fine Furniture, Stained Glass and woodworking workshops.
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