Despite my active lifestyle and my conscious efforts at
eating healthy, I do get sick. Not as often as I used to and not for as long,
but alas, I remain a mere mortal. And so it was earlier this week, I had a
hideous stomach bug for a couple of days. Ugh!
Because was sick, I laid in bed and sat on the couch for a
good part of two days binge watching Jane the Virgin (guilty pleasure - love that show!), working
on my computer, and playing games on my iPad. At the end of Day 2, I was
feeling much better, physically. That is to say I wasn't actually sick anymore - no more stomach bug - but I was also drained and depressed. I was in
a serious funk and really didn’t feel like doing anything, even though,
physically, I felt fine. I finally
forced myself to go to my Zumba class, which helped quite a bit. It’s difficult
to be depressed while dancing.
When I woke up on day 3, I felt a little better, but still a
bit down and emotionally drained. When I got to work, I had a really hard
time focusing on anything at all. After about 45 minutes of fruitlessly attempting to
force myself to focus on pulling together the agenda and materials for an upcoming meeting, I stepped away from my
desk, went outside, and took a half hour walk. It worked, I had my focus back
and felt much better.
I'd be willing to bet my funk was the result of two days of being sedentary
and engaging in a LOT of screen time between the television, my computer, and
my iPad. I remember before I lost weight just how very difficult it was to get
into the habit of exercising. Now, I can speak to how profoundly regular
exercise has improved my energy level and my mood among other aspects of my everyday life. Even a small amount of exercise will do the trick in a pinch. If I can work in a half hour a day of good movement, it helps.
There are so many reasons to live an active lifestyle, and
my brief stomach bug reminded me of the many benefits I have seen, personally,
from becoming more active – even in the short term. Research has shown so many
more long-term benefits to exercise; it has also shown that a sedentary
lifestyle is dangerous (some studies say a sedentary lifestyle is more
dangerous than smoking). Studies have shown, and I can
personally attest to, the link between exercise and mental health . Further, studies have shown there is a link between depression and screen time in teens, and after my experience this week – I am guessing that may apply to adults as
well. (Yes, as you can see - after I got out of my funk this week, I researched this – of course I did, I’m
a research nerd...)
The gist of these studies seems to be that the more you
exercise, the longer you are likely to live….and not only will you live longer,
you’ll be happier.
So – go forth and hike, run, swim, dance, cycle, exercise J Even if it's only a 15 minute walk outside, it's a start and it will make you feel better. Also, it’s fun and it’s very
healthy….And since exercising actually adds years to your life - You don’t have
time NOT to exercise.
Just before our attempt at Paddleboarding
Blurry picture of swing dancing
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