Want more energy?  Spend money.  Get a pill which might or might not work.  An easier and less costly remedy?  Go for a walk.  A new study found that even gentle lunchtime strolls can improve people’s moods and improve their ability to handle stress at work.  I’m going to admit to a bias here because … Read more

It’s easy to think our days are jam packed with activities and there’s simply not enough time for just one more item.  However, some items shouldn’t be on the arbitrary schedule of things to do when you have time.  One of those things is exercise.  People who don’t exercise on a regular schedule see exercise … Read more

While I’ve called the Northwest my home for decades, my home town lies in the big woods of Minnesota.  It’s a town small enough that Friday night mean dance night and dance nights are crowded with people from 2 to 102.  The single nursing home in town also holds dances and people all over the … Read more

Less than half of all Americans meet the federal guidelines for activity.  Unfortunately, even those adults that meet the guideline often negate the benefits of their activity by pursuing long periods of inactivity either through work (by sitting at a desk all day or commuting) or in their leisure time (by watching television, playing on … Read more

We have a walking trail in my neighborhood.  It’s neither long enough nor is it particularly picturesque, it doesn’t lead to shopping areas or impressive views and yet despite that I see more and more of my neighbors taking advantage of its existence.   The benefit to the walking trail in my neighborhood over the sidewalks … Read more

From the time I was fairly young, my mother handed over jars for me to open.   She always had arthritis and when I was really young it was a kick to open something she couldn’t.  As I get older, I am becoming increasingly aware of my own inability to open bags of chips (what do … Read more

A large study that looked at elderly men and women at a high risk of disability found that structured physical activity at moderate intensity significantly reduced the participants’ risk of disability and outperformed those who participated in a health education class that included upper extremity stretching exercises.  The physical activity program was conducted twice a … Read more

Researchers in a 13-year study that followed over 5,000 midlife adults found that a subject’s physical ability in midlife provided clues to whether they survived the next decade.  Subjects self-reported their physical ability for routine tasks such as grip strength, maintaining balance while standing and chair rise rate (the speed at which an individual goes … Read more

The level of comfort that we felt with our balance when we were younger or more fit or both can go away as we age.  And when it does, we put ourselves at risk of falling.  I cannot remember the last time my doctor saw me standing on my feet.  The nurse does of course … Read more