Welcome to the category of my blog simply called ‘Healthy Tips.’ Many times, when I write articles for various publications, I need to find sources for the story as seen in Yahoo Shine (click here) or PBS (click here) about staying healthy. I was looking for experts and non-experts to chime in and give their favorite ‘tips’ to help kids and adults lead a healthy lifestyle.
The feedback for various stories was amazing. The sources had some fantastic points of view that could not be ignored, and I thought their opinions should be viewed on the Your Health Journal web site.
So, enjoy my new series, with some ‘great’ insight from some ‘great’ people giving exceptional and educational points of view.
The importance of families exercising together
There are SO many wonderful advantages but I would like to share the mental health ones. When families exercise together, everyone is happier, more engaged, smarter and more healthy! Moderate exercise raises serotonin and endorphin levels and relieves anxiety and depression. I encourage my moms to exercise outdoors with the family. An interesting 2009 study from the Netherlands found a strong relationship between being outdoors in nature and lower rates of anxiety and depression – so getting out into nature is awesome. And a paper recently published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, looked at the effect of nature in depressed adults and found that something as simple as a walk in the park improved cognition and mood! There are benefits for children too – a 2004 paper in the America Journal of Public Health found that children with ADHD benefitted from being outdoors in greenery.
Suggestions / creative ideas to get families to exercise together
With younger children mom or dad can get a rugged baby cart and go for a jog along trails. If there is a lake nearby, kayaking is an option or going for a bike ride and putting the child in a bike seat or bike trailer. Even hiking with a backpack baby carrier is fun and kids love it! As the children grow up they can get their own bikes or kayaks and be encouraged to hike. Going on a camping trip is fun for all and the outdoors can be enjoyed – hiking, biking, water fun like kayaking, surfing or even windsurfing,
Reasons why families are not exercising together as much in our modern day era
Mom and dad are stressed and exhausted and are not making health and exercise a priority. Also it has to be fun or it won’t happen. It should not feel like a chore! And sometimes you have to make that initial first commitment to exercise and then once you start to enjoy it and feel the mood benefits, it just happens! I always say to my clients “find something you enjoy; otherwise you won’t stick with it”
– Trudy Scott, nutritionist and author The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help you Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood and End Cravings (June 2011, New Harbinger)