The Health Benefits of Movement

A few years ago, I received the results of a routine blood panel and discovered my fasting glucose level was higher than I wanted it to be. As an herbalist who frequently recites the mantra, "It's not what you take, it's what you do," I knew that it was time for lifestyle modification. I did some gym "shopping" until I found the one that was perfect for me and made a commitment to a couple of times a week. Now, 18 months later, the gym has become an addiction. My sugar levels are much more balanced, my body is stronger and agile and my mood is more stable. A Historic Perspective Whenever I contemplate the benefits or drawbacks of a lifestyle choice, I go back and consider the historical perspective. Human history spans some 6 million years, during which our bodies have developed into what they are today. Until the advent of agriculture about 10,000 years ago, humans were on the move constantly. They were engaged in a wide variety of movements, from walking and running, squatting by a fire, climbing trees and carrying heavy weights. Until a little over 100 years ago, most people worked in labor-intensive jobs, such as farming or mining, that still involved physical exertion and various types of movements. Then we invented the office, followed by the computer, which engineered movement out of our daily routine in the name of convenience, leading to movement deficiency — a root cause of many chronic conditions associated with sedentary lifestyles. The Health Risks Associated with a Sedentary Lifestyle The person who lives a sedentary lifestyle hardly moves. They sit most days at a desk or in their living room. They might be walking from home to their car or from the living room to the kitchen; however, their lifestyle is characterized by minimal movement in a limited variety of patterns. Structural and Movement Imbalances When you sit for a prolonged period, you don't engage your core muscles. Weak core muscles can lead to lower back pain and increase your chances of back injuries. For example, you are more prone to straining a muscle when you lean to pick something up from the floor. While sitting at your desk, you tend to hunch your shoulders, leading to tightness in the neck and shoulders. Tight muscles restrict the flow of nutrient-rich to the tissue and the lymphatic fluids, which carry toxins from the tissue. Muscle tissue adapts to a routine of exercise by creating more nerve cells in muscles and strengthening neuronal pathways in the brain, resulting in a more sophisticated, responsive and efficient control system that can produce smooth, coordinated movements with minimal effort. Increased responsiveness and control lead to better balance and mobility, which are essential for preventing falls and injuries. Another way that the structural system adapts to increased demands due to movement is by increasing the capacity of muscles and connective tissue to grow and heal. Sedentary Lifestyle and Bone Health Your skeleton adapts to the loads placed on it. A lack of weight-bearing exercise leads to decreased bone mineralization, which can result in conditions such as osteopenia and osteoporosis. Your bones become weaker without the stimulus of regular movement and load-bearing activities. Sedentary Lifestyle and Metabolism At the most basic level, metabolism increases and decreases in response to changes in activity level. When you're sedentary, your body dramatically reduces your fuel usage, including the mobilization and burning of adipose tissue. If you're consuming calories designed for an active body but living a sedentary life, you're creating a chronic state of caloric excess that may lead to overweight and obesity. Exercise creates an insulin-independent pathway for glucose uptake. During muscle contraction, glucose moves to the cell membrane without requiring insulin signaling. This is critical for someone with insulin resistance — suddenly, glucose can enter muscle cells despite the broken insulin signaling pathway. The effect of exercise on glucose uptake lasts for up to 48 hours after exercise. By increasing energy demand and glucose uptake into muscle tissue, exercise reduces blood glucose and improves insulin sensitivity. Routine exercise triggers the creation of new mitochondria and increases the concentration of metabolic enzymes in each mitochondrion, making each mitochondrion more efficient at producing energy. At the same time, having more mitochondria means a better capacity to process glucose and fatty acids efficiently, thereby reducing the cellular stress that triggers insulin resistance. Sedentary Lifestyle and Inflammation A sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of low-grade inflammation. The inflammatory risk is reinforced if a sedentary lifestyle includes poor dietary choices, such as snacking and stress. Stress is an important factor in the inflammatory cascade. Exercise helps release some of the stress and improve sleep. People who don't move much experience stress more intensely and tend to struggle with insomnia. Exercise, Mood and Cognition Exercise releases endorphins — those famous "feel-good" chemicals that bind to the same receptors as opioids, creating a natural high. Exercise has a profound impact on both focus and memory. Physical activity stimulates the release of dopamine, which is crucial for maintaining attention and focus. Additionally, the hippocampus (essential for memory consolidation and emotional regulation) is particularly responsive to exercise. While chronic stress and elevated cortisol levels can cause the hippocampus to shrink, regular physical activity helps protect and enlarge this crucial structure. Lastly, exercise helps maintain the structural integrity of the prefrontal cortex, preventing the loss of volume and dendritic complexity that can occur with chronic stress or aging. I'm not sure about you, but I'm convinced. Meet me at the gym.