Let’s talk about my new stretching book, how exercise benefits your brain, the sit to stand test (a must-do), walking fast enough, and how to prevent inflammaging.
So, I finally completed my updated stretching book, and you may acquire it either as a soft cover, ring-bound book or as an Ebook. Here are the links to order either one, or if you’re coming in for an appointment, you may get the book from me personally. This book is extremely important for helping you stay flexible and reduce your risk of falling as you age. Plus, the exercises can help with improving the quality of your sports and your activities. Cheers. Dr. Ben
Soft-bound ring binder book:
Ebook:
How exercise benefits the brain
Sit-to-stand: The simple test that reveals how you’re aging Jasmin Fox-Skelly Health Fix newsletter and The Essential List
The sit-to-stand test takes just 30 seconds to complete, but its results can provide profound insights into your health.
Getting out of a chair may seem too trivial a task to pay much attention to, but your ability to do so actually reveals a great deal about your health. To assess this, doctors use the sit-to-stand test (STS), which measures how many times you can rise to a standing position from seated within 30 seconds. It’s commonly performed in GP surgeries, or community settings when screening for health issues amongst older people, but it can also easily be performed at home.
“It’s a really helpful test, because it tells us so much about how well people are functioning,” says Jugdeep Dhesi, a consultant geriatrician at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London and professor of geriatric medicine at Kings College London, in the UK. “It tells us about their strength, their balance and their flexibility. We know that there’s some studies that suggest that it can help to inform whether people are at risk of things like falls, cardiovascular issues or even at a higher risk of dying.”
All you need to do the test at home is a chair with a straight back and no arm rests, and a stopwatch or timer (most modern phones have this function).
To do the test, simply sit in the middle of the chair, cross your arms and place both of your hands on opposing shoulders. Keep your back straight with your feet on the floor. Then press your stopwatch’s start button and rise to a full standing position before sitting down again. Repeat this for 30 seconds, counting how many times you can come to a full standing position. A low score on the sit-to-stand test can be used to identify people who might be at risk of worse health outcomes, like falls or complications after surgery
Find out how you compare:
According to the CDC, the average STS test scores for each age group are:
- 60-64 the average score is 14 for men, and 12 for women
- 65–69 the average score is 12 for men, and 11 for women.
- 70-74 the average score is 12 for men, and 10 for women.
- 75–79 the average score is 11 for men, and 10 for women.
- 80–84 the average score is 10 for men, and 9 for women.
- 85–89 the average score is 8 for both, men and women.
- 90–94 the average score is 7 for men, and 4 for women.
A poor score on the test also suggests that a person’s heart and lungs may not be functioning well, putting them at higher risk of “adverse cardiac events” such as myocardial infarction (heart attack), stroke and heart failure. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), if a person scores less on the test than the “average” for their age group then they are also at greater risk of falls.
How to improve your performance
According to Dhesi, the best way of improving your score is to stay as active and mobile as possible. If mobility is difficult, you can start by doing seated exercises that can be used to build up strength. From there, you could move to standing up perhaps five times every hour or two hours. If you are able, simply walking up and down your living room and making sure that you are going up and down the stairs at least three or four times a day can also make a difference. You can also walk to the market, play with your grandchildren (if you have them), do your own housework and gardening. Look for every opportunity to move and get up and down.
Hey, all you dog walkers. Are you walking fast enough?
https://www.self.com/story/does-walking-count-as-cardio
Combating Inflammaging
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/wellness/a60234176/what-is-inflammaging/
THOUGHTS FOR THE MONTH
“In my Senior Years I have become acutely aware of the misbehaviors and mistakes of my youth. All of them resulted in consequences of lost relationships, missed opportunities or health damages. At this stage of my life the best I can say is “If I had known any better, I would have done better”
The wisdom I now attempt to cultivate is that same notion for those I see doing damaging things in life. “If they knew any better, they would do better”.
This cultivated approach works so much easier than carrying around anger, regret, fear or rage which only contributes to digestion, sleep and health difficulties.
Karma or natural consequences seems to take care of all the damaging behavior I or anyone else may have indulged in. I am grateful that now, I can take steps to clean up, where possible, my mistakes.” Jim Dohn, D.C., (Certified Hellerwork Practitioner)
“Elections should be held on April 16th—the day after we pay our income taxes. That is one of the few things that might discourage politicians from being big spenders.”