| Fitness
and Wellness
Benefits
Of Exercise
Central
Nervous System Diseases:
People
with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's
disease should be encouraged to exercise. Specialized exercise
programs that improve mobility are particularly valuable for Parkinson's
patients. Patients with neurological disorders who exercise experience
less spasticity as well as reduction in -- and even reversal of
-- muscle atrophy. In addition, the psychological benefits of
exercise are extremely important in managing these disorders.
Exercise machines, aquatic exercises, and walking are particularly
useful.
Gastrointestinal
Problems:
Older
people who exercise moderately may have a lower risk for severe
gastrointestinal bleeding. Experts suggest that moderate exercise
might even reduce the risk for some intestinal disorders, including
ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, indigestion, and diverticulosis.
Leg
Cramps:
Exercise
can even improve pain from clogged arteries in the legs, a condition
called intermittent claudication. The best approach in such cases
is to walk until pain develops; then rest until pain resolves
before resuming walking. In six-month studies, people had tripled
the amount of time they could walk before the onset of pain.
Weight
Loss:
Exercise
burns calories and can help individuals fight obesity. If caloric
intake remains constant, regular workouts lead to weight loss.
Be forewarned, however, that the pounds won't melt off magically.
It takes 35 miles of walking or jogging to consume the calories
in one pound of fat. Effective weight loss means a long-term commitment
to a regular program of vigorous exercise.
One
recent study indicated that for obese patients, a few daily sessions
for as short as 10 minutes each was effective in helping the patients
adhere to an exercise program. Abdominal crunches may help replace
abdominal fat with muscle. To perform this exercise, the individual
lies on the back with the head and shoulders raised; he or she
contracts the stomach muscles, curling the torso slightly forward.
Abdominal fat is a particular danger to the heart, although it
is unknown whether doing crunches will specifically protect against
heart disease.
Psychological
and Emotional Benefits:
Aerobic
exercise is linked with improved mental vigor, including reaction
time, acuity, and math skills. Exercising may even enhance creativity
and imagination. According to one study, older people who are
physically fit respond to mental challenges just as quickly as
unfit young adults. (Stretching and weight training appear to
have no such effects.)
Both
aerobic and nonaerobic workouts have been shown to reduce depression.
According to one study, exercise was as effective for improving
mood in people with clinical depression as some common forms of
psychotherapy. Either brief periods of intense training or prolonged
aerobic workouts can raise levels of important chemicals in the
brain, such as endorphins, adrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine,
that produce feelings of pleasure, causing the so-called runner's
high.
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