By Dr. Attia Anwer

You cannot stress enough the importance of physical activity for mental and physical health. It is obvious if you are not physically healthy, you may experience cognitive problems and vice versa.

Your body plays an essential part in your physical and mental health. Movement is a good way to increase your well-being. Even a short brisk walk of ten minutes enhances your mood. Physical inactivity is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. It is also the cause of many chronic diseases. So there must be some global recommendations to prevent non-communicable diseases, especially in low and middle-income countries as it is difficult to bear the burden of diseases with fewer resources. Exercise is still a luxury as we have moved towards a sedentary lifestyle.

Being physically active will give you a lot of physical benefits. It will secrete certain hormones in your body which will decrease your stress level. By using your body muscles, they will not age and degenerate early. You can delay that process by being active. It will boost your immunity and protect you from infections and cancer. If you do exercise, it will decrease stress tension, and mental fatigue. It will give you an energy boost. You will have a sense of achievement and accomplishment after completing a workout. Your focus on work and motivation to work will improve. You will feel less angry and frustrated. You will have fun and your appetite will become healthy. As life gets busy we do not find time to move for our wellbeing. You can find small moments for movement throughout the day. You can easily incorporate them into your life. You can take a break from sitting or instead of calling people on the intercom go to their desks or just take a small walk during office hours. Movements are different for everyone, there is no need to compare yourself to others. Plan things outdoors that you enjoy and look forward to. Listen to the music that keeps you moving. Go to nature. The days in which your mood is low and you feel hard to get out of bed. If you show yourself some kindness and can go out you will get the biggest boost in your mood. Don’t forget to take a rest and celebrate your small achievements.

These are certain kinds of physical activity which are very beneficial for you. First of all, is walking. It is most easy to do if you walk outside. It will give you all the benefits of being in nature. It can be part of your meditation if you walk alone. If you walk with a friend it is part of your social connections. It will make your muscles strong. Brisk walking is good for your heart and brain. It will give you a sense of being well. Then you can go running and swimming. It depends upon what you enjoy and if you have some physical problem, all these three come under the heading of aerobic activity and almost every one of us with a certain level of health can do them safely.

After aerobic activity comes strengthening exercises. In which you use your muscles against resistance. You can use your own body for resistance like push up pull ups. Or you can lift weights or you can dig your garden. Strengthening exercises have their benefits and if you are healthy you must do strengthening exercises at least twice a week. Because they are important to keep you fit, healthy, and young. They help you to maintain your healthy weight and help you lose weight if you are obese or overweight. They help you to get your body out of a metabolic state, in which you have increased appetite more fatigue, and less vigor. They help you to have a good night’s sleep. They release endorphins which will make you feel good and help to have a healthy routine.

Then there are exercises for flexibility like stretching and yoga. You can do several flexibility exercises at the beginning of the workout. If you do proper stretching before working out your chances of getting a muscular injury are minimized moreover they help you perform daily activities for a longer period. It helps in improving the performance of your muscles it also increases blood supply to muscles. Balance exercises are good for mind development like yoga, Tai chi walking heel to toe. Balance is necessary for every everyday activity. So if you improve your balance your responses to stimuli get better and your chances of falling are reduced. It is especially important for older people for whom falls can lead to serious injuries that are difficult to heal. Balance training improves health and well-being from young to old, and athlete to non-athlete.

Being physically active can be achieved by a routine of activities which are mentioned above every day, and make them your habit. However, people who have a long healthy life are usually people who have a simple lifestyle and are active all the time. Being physically active is part of their life. Their lifestyle demands some sort of physical activity and they are more exposed to nature. In our sedentary or office lifestyle, we can achieve this by getting up from our chair or sofa every thirty minutes and then moving for five minutes which will keep us in a constant state of boosted metabolism.

How much physical activity is necessary? For children five to seventeen years old 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity is recommended. If they do more it is more beneficial for their health. For eighteen to sixty-five years old 150 minutes of moderate activity per week is recommended. Again this is a minimum requirement. For additional health benefits, it can be increased to 300 minutes per week. Muscle strengthening exercises are very important. They help you lose weight and keep your body young, for people above 65 years recommended level is the same as for all adults which is 150 minutes of vigorous activity per week. For the older people who cannot do any physical activity due to health conditions or certain limitations. They should move as much as they can. The benefits of being active outweigh the harm.

So I have given a brief outline of what types of physical activity one can do. But I cannot stress enough that movement is key for happiness and well-being, whatever level of your health is whichever problem you have. You should move as much as you can even if nothing is possible you can move your fingers and toes. The secret is to play with your strengths and not focus on weaknesses. Whatever body part is strong use it around your weakness and ultimately you will overcome your weakness.

The author Dr. Attia Anwar is a consultant family physician with a postgraduate degree from the Royal College of GP UK. She is a strong advocate of health and well-being and wants patient participation in decision-making regarding health.