Monday, November 26, 2007

Can You Stop The Aging Process By Exercising?

By Graham Foster

Lack of exercise and activity can lead to aging too fast and stop you from living a healthy and long life. When you do'nt exercise regularly you are more likely to feel tired much of the time and also find it difficult to sleep at night.

If you don't sleep well at night you wake up feeling unrefreshed and exhausted even before you start the day. This get progressively worse until in the late after noon, early evening you are so tired you feel yourself nodding off and may find yourself waking up whilst driving home from work or while watching TV.

Enjoying a good night sleep makes the mind work more effectively and helps you make decisions more easily and effectively. A good nights sleep also helps you feel more energetic and this can also help control your body weight. You can also make your decisions with less stress. Sleeping well at night makes our immune system more effective and this help to keep us healthier.

Aging Experts, Doctors and Health Researchers have all show that a good nights sleep is vitally important to having a healthy body.It has been found that a lack of sleep effects the growth hormones in your body which can lead to muscles becoming weaker and the body becoming fatter.Truth is sleep is pretty much essnetial for healthy living but equally important if not more so is exercise. One great way to get exercise is to take a daily walk.

A daily walk works wonders to build your strength and build and maintain your muscles, it will also help remove the stresses and strains of the day. By feeling more relaxed through walking you'll feel more energetic during the day ready to take on any task with a clear mind. In addition you'll find you sleep better at nights.

If you exercise on a day to day basis and also get a good nights sleep you will assist your body's metabolism. When you don't sleep properly, your body spends the day trying to find extra energy. This means your body releases glucose or insulin in to the blood stream which subsequently slows down your metabolism. This can lead to weight gain as the body is unable to control weight as effectively.

If you are feeling tired or fatigued after a busy day the last thing you want to do is exercise. This can lead to apathy and subsequently more serious health problems which are associated with a inactive life style. By having a good nights sleep you give your body more energy and you'll be more enthusiastic and feel more motivated to exercise.

What you should avoid:

To relax and sleep properly and feel energised you should reduce your intake of caffeine, nicotine, harmful chemicals, such as over-the-counter meds that keep you awake, alcohol and keep the use of prescriptions meds as low as is possible.Many of these chemicals and substances will likely keep you awake.

Make an effort not to drink beverages either hot or cold after 8pm this especially important if they contain caffeine or other chemicals (which most do). Some people find a hot milk or malted drink help them sleep more soundly. I also urge you to stop smoking as this in addition to many know benefits will help you when trying to sleep.

By taking a walk every morning you will encourage your body to be energized and you'll, feel much more prepared for the day ahead. In addition an added benefit will be your joints will be more flexible and you'll become less prone to aches and pains associated with lack of mobility.

In addition, another added benefit walking will help you burn fat and calories a nice added bonus. You'll soon notice a big change in how you feel the rest of the day. When you first start out begin walking at a slow steady pace don't over do things. Each day increase your pace a bit and walk further even by a few extra yards stretch yourself but don't over do it.

If you are new to walking for exercise I recommend that you don't over do things it is all to easy to cause injury or worse if you push to hard at the start. Walking should leave you energized not collapsed on the sidewalk. Remember build up slowly and slowly and you won't go far wrong. A added bonus of all this extra walking is your digestion will work better, you'll enjoy your food more and you'll also sleep soundly at nights. Oh and I nearly forgot it can help your realtionships as well as you'll want a great way to use up some of that new found energy won't you?

If you start a walking program, it is a lot more fun if you have someone to go with you. Talk to that neighbor or a buddy from work, ask you wife and husband to walk with you sometimes. Just think about it you'll get a chance to talk about new things which will bring you closer together which will help relieve stress and get in you both exercise as well.

When you finish your walk don't be tempted to dash straight back in to work or the household chores. Give yourself the chance to wind down before you build up again over doing it can have serious consequences and can lead to as many problems as no exercise at all. Just let your heart rate slow back to normal for a few minutes nothing more than that.

If you find you are suffering with insomnia during the night or your mind simply refuses to switch off after a busy day at work. Instead of getting up and watching the late night TV shows just sit listening to some quiet relaxing music and do a few simple stretching exercises before going back to bed.

Don't neglect your body and it won't let you down many ilnesses and ailments associated with old age can be reduced or even in some cases prevented altogether. Remember look after your body and it will look after you.

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