Significant research indicates that physical activity is beneficial for good mental health. Simply improving circulation can have a huge impact on the brain. Many people think staying mentally fit has little to do with physical exercise. Not true. In fact, physical activity can help improve one’s mood, ability to cope and general well-being.

Some researchers suggest that exercise works by helping to distract from negative, anxiety producing thoughts that often fill inactive minds. While that may be part of the equation, the larger part has to do with blood circulation.

Sitting still starves one’s brain of a good oxygen supply. The longer the brain goes with this reduced oxygen supply, the more likely it is that memory and thinking problems will set in. Before long, thinking slows and it gets more difficult to think about complex ideas.

When the body is sedentary for a while, whether sitting at a computer or in front of a TV, it changes and the metabolism slows down. This slowing of the metabolism means blood flow reduces, so circulation reduces to supply only the body core in an effort to conserve energy and provide the best blood flow to the heart and digestive system. This is why muscles shrink and become weak, if people stay inactive for too long.

This doesn’t mean a heavy exercise routine is necessary; getting active with incidental exercise helps people feel better physically and mentally about their future and themselves. Incidental exercise includes housework, cycling to work, using stairs instead of the elevator, gardening and even walking. So, the kind of exercise that helps the brain is easy to do. Exercise also causes an increase in the release of the brain chemicals like endorphins that affect mood and create that happy feeling. Take a few minutes during the day to raise the heart rate and get the blood pumping. The result: feeling more alert and better able to handle the day.

Several studies suggest regular exercise helps reduce the risk of becoming depressed and decreases the symptoms in those who are already clinically depressed. So, if it can help with depression, it must be good for general mental health. As humans age, they experience brain cell loss, decreases in reaction time, and decreases in nerve activity. After the age of 25, maximum oxygen uptake by exercising decreases by up to 25 per cent, per decade. Decreases in hormones cause the rates of depression to increase, while motivation decreases, all of this contributing to a possible reduction in daily function.

But, regular exercise can reduce or eliminate all these adverse effects of aging on the physical and mental health of anyone over the age of 25, even though it cannot halt many of the physical changes that occur with aging. Stay mentally young by keeping physically busy.

JANUARY 2012 SENIOR LIVING MAGAZINE VANCOUVER ISLAND