A recent study reported in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine (April 2007) suggests that women who exercise regularly seem to have an easier time handling the symptoms that go along with menopause than women who don’t exercise. But don’t get your hopes up too high. Exercise may or may not help to reduce some of the most bothersome symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes.

Menopause is defined as the actual point in time when you have had your last period and your ovaries stop making the hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Any time after that is actually post-menopause.

The symptoms that women typically associate with menopause can begin
many years before menopause and last for a year or more after
menopause. Symptoms will vary from one woman to another but here are
some that you might experience: hot flashes, night sweats, bladder
changes, insomnia, headache, tiredness or fatigue, irritability,
anxiety, depression, heart palpitations, and joint pain.

Regular exercise can improve heart and respiratory fitness. It can also
improve your mood and relieve tension. These benefits in turn seem to
have a direct influence on the way women perceive how they are feeling.
Hence, women who exercise report having a better quality of life when
dealing with menopausal symptoms. The actual symptoms may not be
different than for women who do not exercise but they may be perceived
to be less of a problem.

If exercise does not relieve your hot flashes, one of the most
bothersome of the menopausal symptoms, try some of this suggestions
from the National Institute on Aging:

1. Keep track of when hot flashes happen–a diary can help. You might
be able to use this information to find out what triggers your flashes
and then avoid it.

2. When a hot flash starts, go somewhere cool.

3. If night sweats wake you, try sleeping a in a cool room or with a fan on.

4. Dress in layers that you can take off if you get too warm.

5. Use sheets and clothing that let your skin "breathe."

6. Have a cold drink (water or juice) when a flash is starting.

Hope these suggestions help.

Even though exercise may not directly improve menopausal symptoms there
are clearly other benefits for your overall health and possibly some
indirect benefits for helping you cope with menopausal symptoms. So
keep on exercising or find a way to get started!

According to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC 2007) the United States population is aging rapidly.  By the year 2030 the number of Americans over the age of 65 will reach 71 million or so, more than double the number of that age today.

The CDC researchers say that 80 percent of Americans aged 65 and older have at least one chronic disease that could lead to premature death and disability. However, the report also points out that three health behaviors over which we have control were responsible for almost 35 percent of deaths in the U.S. in the year 2000. What are these three health behaviors? Smoking, poor diet, and physical inactivity. What we need are creative ideas and motivation to change those behaviors.

Today I’d like to share with you some excellent resources
on physical activity that might help you get started with exercise or
improve on what you’re already doing.

First of all how fit are you? The Mayo Clinic has a four-part
assessment tool to help you determine your level of fitness. Use the
results from this assessment to set fitness goals and keep track of
your progress.
I just had my
annual physical at my doctor’s office so that has given me the
motivation to get back to the level of exercise I was doing just a few
months ago. My HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol) has dropped a little and I know exercise has a significant impact on this. Have you had a physical recently?

There are all kinds of ways to increase your physical activity. Walking
is always a good choice. Check out the American Heart Association START program for tips, tools, and encouragement with walking. And if walking is not your cup of tea, there’s always dancing,
swimming, tennis, hiking, and so many other choices. But if you need to choose something
that dovetails better with your schedule how about gaining more benefit
from the work you are already doing?

Discovery Health has a couple of great articles on ways to exercise
while doing household chores. Try the laundry toss, upload and lift, or
rake and twist! Or maybe you’d like to increase your strength and flexibility and
de-stress at the same time but the only time you have "for yourself" is
when you’re preparing a meal. If so, check out the article on Kitchen
Yoga!

No matter what exercise you might choose if you’d like to keep track of
the calories burned, you’ll want to consult the Global Health and
Fitness tools. Their calculator will give you an estimate for just
about any exercise or physical activity you might think of including
household chores.

And if you think you are too old to get started, think again!! You need
to watch a video of an 88 year-old woman weight lifter who didn’t even
start training till she was 78!!

The 10th International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders is being held this week in Madrid, Spain. Researchers have been sharing the results of a number of studies all revealing the importance of maintaining cardiovascular health for normal brain function including mental skills and better memory.

In addition to exercise, one of the studies indicated that those who ate diets rich in fish and polyunsaturated fats had a greater chance for sharper minds and fewer memory problems than those who didn’t exercise or who had diets high in saturated fat from milk products and spreads.

Diet, Exercise May Fend Off Dementia

technorati tags:exercise, brain, health, memory, mental, skills, diet

Research now indicates that beginning an exercise program in your forties or beyond can dramatically reduce your risk for heart disease.

In a study performed by a group of German scientists, those participants who exercised from their 20′s on had the lowest risk which did not surprise the researchers. What surprised them was the improvement in those who did not begin to exercise until their 40′s. These individuals were still able to reduce their risk for heart disease by more than half!

That’s good news and all the more reason to keep exercising if you have been or get started TODAY if you have not. It’s your life! Grab a hold of what you have and take care of yourself. You matter!





Reformed Couch Potatoes Cut Heart Risk

technorati tags:heart, disease, risk, exercise, benefits

My walking and jogging was going well in the weeks before 9/11. But I admit I was only going to the track my requisite 3-4 times a week. That seemed to be plenty to stay healthy. Even so I had my days when other demands kept me away. I wasn’t too concerned. Afterall, wasn’t I doing well overall?

Then 9/11 arrived.  I remember the day starting out as uneventful as the next. By late morning I was as dazed and upset as anyone else. I don’t remember going to the track for a time. I don’t remember doing much of anything other than watching the news reports as much as I could.

At some point in the next few weeks I did return to my exercise. I decided I would celebrate the gift I had to still be here. The gift I had to still walk and jog. The gift to choose to be fit and healthy. I continued to add a lap each week. If I felt like giving up, I reminded myself of the many men, women, and children who would have given anything to simply have another day with their loved ones. I would choose to do what was necessary to appreciate my life and stay healthy. I wanted the energy to do more.

When 9/11 occurred it was about the time in my previous exercise efforts that I would often get side-tracked. After a few months or so my good intentions would have disapated.   This time I was motivated to continue. I reached a point at which I no longer felt good if I didn’t exercise. I was hooked.

Being hooked on exercise can be a very good thing!

If anyone would have told me I would some day be hooked on exercise, I would have thought they were nuts! I’ve understood the importance of exercise for as long as I can remember. And I’ve made the effort to get at least a little exercise a few times a week. But as often as not, when times were busy, the exercise was the first to go.

Now I feel my day is missing something if I have not exercised. Not only do I WANT to exercise but I feel best when it is vigorous exercise. What changed? Might it be possible for you also?

I’ve been a walker for as long as I can remember. But not a consistent walker. I had actually been a jogger in my early 20′s. Then a well-meaning but misinformed doctor advised me to stop joggging. I reluctantly followed that advice and gave it up for more than 20 years. And so I became a walker instead.

One day when my daughter was in Middle School I stood on the sidelines watching while she and a friend practiced running a mile at a University track. Other than the banter between my daughter and her friend, it was quiet. I realized we were the only ones at the track. With no one there to watch, I was tempted to see if I could still jog a mile .

I was in my mid-forties and I felt healthy enough to give it a try. A mile at this particular track was 12 laps. I thought I could manage that… I could only jog three laps with quite some effort! Only three or less than a quarter of a mile! That got my attention!

At that moment I decided I WOULD JOG whether it was advised or not. I no longer cared to have someone stop me. I decided I would start with jogging just three laps 3-4 times a week. Each week I would add one more lap. Within just a few months, I was jogging over a mile. In a few more months, I could go a mile and a half. I was feeling better, much better. I had more energy, more stamina, and fewer problems with my advance into the unknown of perimenopause.

That was in the months before 9/11…