Brain Power Exercise You Can Do Now

Want to lose 3 pounds right now?  Stop using your brain power.   Your mind weighs approximately 3 pounds and if you don’t use it, you lose it. Well maybe not the weight, but its amazing ability to help you move, to think and remember. Most of us have it backwards.  We age and therefore stop moving. It’s more like, stop exercising and you age.  If you could hear your body-mind talk, the conversation would go something like this, “Get a move on and stimulate my brain power cells to grow, connect and keep me young.”

Contrary to age old beliefs, aging does not have to come with loss of memory, mental decline and decreased brain power.  Scientists now believe that decreased mental capacity comes from diminished stimulation to the brain. 

A healthy neuron is linked to literally tens of thousands of other neurons, creating a  hundred trillion connections – each with the ability to perform 200 calculations per second! But neurons don’t only connect with other neurons, they connect with muscles at a little meeting place called the neuromuscular junction and this is vital to your ability to move.  The great news is you can stimulate fresh neurons in old age because brains have what is called ‘plasticity,’ the ability to change, to grow and to adapt to the challenges you feed it.  Mental decline due to age usually is often a result of physical inactivity and a lack of mental stimulation.

The word exercise means to ward off.  How appropriate:  because when you exercise, your blood circulation increases: sending more oxygen and brain feeding blood sugar (glucose) to your brain. This results in a domino effect of increasing blood vessels in your brain. Your choice of exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous.  Although one that is specifically designed for the brain will give you better results.  Studies have shown that people who are reasonably active have a significant advantage regarding memory over people who are sedentary.  Occupational therapists (therapists who specialize in improving people’s function) have also studied specific exercises to find that certain type of exercises increased both brain functioning and decreased brain attack by 57%. 

Specific exercises have even shown to be successful as a preventative measure to Alzheimer’s. Even more interesting is that couch potatoes are twice as likely to develop dementia.  In order to reap the benefits of increased brain power, mental alertness, and neuron growth, you need to unlock the door to exercise - period.  Open your mind and give yourself the opportunity.  You are what you believe to yourself to be.  No matter what your age or your fitness level.   Whether you are 40 or 70:   prevention is the doorway to a healthy mind. I just gave you the key.  Take Charge and be Healthwise, Exercise.

Live Longer Through Cardiovascular Health

Aching muscles, heavy breathing, sweat poring off you. You ask yourself, "how will I get through this"? It's the sacrifice needed to stay healthy, strong and functional. When you really think about it, it's no different than any other kind of work. Getting up early, into the office, meetings at 8AM, paperwork to complete, staff to discipline, inventory to check, budgets to keep. How will I get through this? You did it and you did it well. You might be retired now and all the effort paid off. Your life is more secure because you decided to sacrifice and achieve goals. 

This weeks Motivational Moment

Life can be pulled by goals just as surely as it can be pushed by drives.
Viktor Frankl

If you are fit enough to run or jog, continue to do so but make sure you have supportive shoes. If not, get up and go for a walk. Now, I don't mean a gentle stroll to take in the evening air. I mean a power walk. Get your breathing up, take big steps at a brisk pace and swing your arms. Some controllable hand weights would be a good idea too. Wear good fitting shoes with shock absorbing soles.  Start around the block, then around the neighborhood and then just keep walking around. Your body loves oxygen. The more you take in the healthier you get. Your heart is a muscle. When you put it to work it gets larger and stronger just like a bicep when lifting weights. This makes it pump more blood that's full of oxygen through your body even when you are at rest. Sweat releases toxins from the body and acts as a natural coolant.  A big glass of cool water before and after a walk helps to keep you properly hydrated.

Why walk? Every person over 90 is always asked, "How'd you do it"? And every person over 90 responds, "I kept moving, kept working and didn't smoke and drink myself into oblivion. That's it". Your body is a biological machine. If you let it sit around for years unused and neglected, then try to start it up it's going to cough, wheeze, sputter and come to grinding halt. But if you work it, maintain it, nourish it with premium fuels, it will stand the test of time. 

Healthiest blessings,

Suzanne Andrews 

10 Top Anti-Aging Tips for a Youthful Mind, Body, Spirit

Suzanne Andrews, star of Functional Fitness on PBS TV shares how you can become empowered with an age defying mind/body and spirit with these 10 top anti-aging tips.

The desire for youthful energy never leaves and is capable of staying with you well until your later years. Boomers are, however, faced with the old adage, “use it or lose it.”   It’s no wonder boomers are keen to put passion back into their lives and fight the effects of aging.  True we are living in a society with an obesity epidemic and what a better motivator than  living an independent life well into ones retirement with an increased zest and ability to perform activities of daily living with greater ease and function.

How do function and aging co-exist and blend with fitness?  They are a twin-ship, even if we don’t see them that way.  No one wants to feel and look old before their time. Much of what we blame on aging: weakness, decreased range of motion and obesity can be reversed in 30 days.  How do we look and feel younger in 30 days? Through a blissful discipline called Functional Fitness.  

Americans are getting older every minute and life expectancy is ever-increasing.   People leading full productive lives after the age of retirement are no longer a “wow.”  Most baby boomers want to live active lives and learn how to enjoy a fulfilling active life.  You’re as fit as your body is functional.  Contrary to popular opinion, not even all young people are limber, for keeping flexibility relies on regular stretching. However flexibility, one of the three primary components of physical fitness, is extremely important to attaining a healthy life.  Without flexibility, simple activities, such as reaching and bending become painful. True, muscles shorten with age, but according to the National Foundation for anti-aging, “most aging is premature.”  Here are 10 tips to help you stay younger, fitter and functional. 

1- Drink six to eight glasses of water each day. Hydrate skin, nourish it, and prevent wrinkles. 

2- Stretch and strengthen your legs. Doing calf raises and tiptoe walking every other day improves circulation and helps prevents spider veins. 

3- Incorporate upper-body exercises. Lift mini dumbbells, and stretch back muscles. This protects against osteoporosis. 

4- Strengthen your abs five days a week. Sit-ups enhance blood flow to vital organs, repairing tissue damage.

5- Add aerobic exercise. Keep your heart and lungs youthful and fit. 

6 – Choose aerobics that enhance brain power. Jogging, bicycling, and speed walking sharpen memory and increase attention span. 

7- Use diaphragmatic breathing. Inhale through your nose so debris and pollutants are filtered from the air. Make your belly rise, and then fall slowly, exhaling through pursed lips. Relaxed breathing decreases levels of stress hormones that accelerate aging. 

8- Eat baked, broiled, or grilled salmon two times per week. Its omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins combat disease-causing free radicals.

9- Try colorful vegetables. Dr. Roy Vartabedian, author of “Nutripoints,” and Nutrition Expert for Functional Fitness starring Suzanne Andrews, ® recommends spinach, broccoli and romaine lettuce daily with lunch and dinner.  Dark green vegetables have cancer-fighting properties and vitamin C to boost your immune system. Tomatoes are also on this “fighter veggies” list.

 10- Enjoy fresh fruit for dessert.  Dr. Vartabedian suggests cantaloupe, guava, and papaya. These also combat the cell damage that causes premature aging.

Learn More about Anti Aging Exercise

Secrets to Affordable Aging Revealed

With sky-rising healthcare costs, the cost of aging is steadily climbing .  It seems the more we make, the cost of everything continues to increase.   As a result, medical bills have the power to eliminate most of the money we put away for other things, like vacations or gifts for the grandkids. So, what do you do?

According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute a man who retires at 65 can expect to live until 83. He will need to have around $65k to $109k in those years to cover insurance premiums and out of pocket expenses. That works out to $270 to $450 a month.

For women, the EBRI says retiring at 65 and living until 85 will mean she’ll need $88k to $146k for insurance premiums and out of pocket expenses which works out to $366 to $608 a month.  Both men and women will need these amounts on hand to provide a 50% chance of having enough to cover these expenses. If you’re getting $1000 a month from Social Security these costs will eat up about 25% to 60% of those payments alone.

If you have managed to secure a considerable nest egg, good for you. If you haven’t, it might be time get some part time work. Besides, retirement is boring. You know, all that rest and relaxation gets old pretty quick.

Here’s a novel idea that can save you money on healthcare costs.   Stay out of the health care merry-go-round as best you can.  And just how do you do that? Start an exercise program geared towards your needs, abilities or limitations. That means if you’re in a wheelchair seek seated exercise programs. If your knees are gone, ride a bike or do some gentle exercise programs.  If you have asthma, don’t take up hiking in the mountains.  Start slow and take walks around the neighborhood. It’s important to find something you enjoy because you’re more likely to do it. The more you do it the healthier you get. If you have arthritis, do an exercise program especially for arthritis and limber up your joints and muscles.

You needn’t strive to be an athlete.  If you are just getting started, exercise will make you healthier.  You’ll have stronger muscles to lift things, denser bones to absorb shock from falls and a stronger heart to pump more blood and oxygen to all the organs in your body which makes them all work better. Pills, sometimes necessary, are not always an easy fix and can cause many undesirable side effects and mask the symptoms.   Exercise can eliminate the cause. There are countless examples of people who were taking a dozen pills a day that went down to 2, 3 or none a day because of regular exercise.

The healthier you are, the less likely it is you will have to employ the skills and costs of doctors, nurses, therapists and pharmacists for whatever ails you. They worked long and hard to acquire those skills and they can’t afford to work cheap.  Plan for your health now instead of being a patient for your health care plan.