30 Days of Self Healing – Day 13
Exercise may also slow the decline in immune function that comes with aging. When you compare the immune systems of old and young people, the most striking finding is the decline in T cells. A study conducted by researchers at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, looked at 13 highly conditioned elderly women whose T-cell activity was nearly equal to that of a control group of college-age women and 60 percent greater than another control group of elderly, sedentary women.
These women, whose average age was 73, had been exercising moderately for around an hour a day for about 11 years. They had the heart and lungs of women in their 40s and weighed 23 pounds less on average than the sedentary group. They were neither depressed nor stressed out, and their dietary intake of nutrients was better. I’d say this study elucidates the immune-boosting power of exercise!
We are discovering more everyday how exercise supports brain function. Everyone gets the blues from time to time, yet some people stay depressed. Left unresolved, depression can sap your energy, suppress your sex drive, keep you from concentrating, lead to insomnia, and generally take all the joy out of living. One effective remedy is to sweat it out through exercising.
In your brain, exercise activates key neurotransmitters that elevate your mood, namely serotonin and norepinephrine, the very same chemicals used in most antidepressant medications. While these medications can provide much-needed relief to some patients, clinical trials have shown that 40 to 50 percent of depressed patients don’t even respond to them the first time around. Plus, there are some nasty side effects from these medications. Exercise, on the other hand, lifts depression by altering these same neurotransmitters more quickly and without side effects—and thus should be considered as a first-line intervention for depression. Exercise is a drug, a natural one!
