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How Friendship Keeps you Young. Do You Need Strength Training? Oleda's Anti-Aging Newsletter, March 2006
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March
2006 | |
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A Message from
Oleda | |
| There are many things we can do to help
ourselves stay young and live longer…not all are as easy
as having friends.
Thirty-five
years ago, in 1971, a song album titled,
Tapestry, written by Carole King, won four
Grammy awards, including album of the year; and a song
on the album titled, You’ve Got a Friend, was
awarded Song of the Year. I’m sure many of you
remember it, but, as a refresher, here are the first two
and last verses of the lyrics: |
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When you're down and troubled
and you need some
lovin' care
and nothin', nothin' is going right.
Close
your eyes and think of me
and soon I will be there
to
brighten up even your darkest night.
You just call out
my name,
and you know wherever I am
I'll come running to
see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall,
all you
have to do is call
and I'll be there...
You've got a
friend.
Ain't it
good to know...
Ain't it good to know...
Ain't it good
to know...
You've got a friend.
Oh, yeah, you've got a
friend.
Yeah, Baby, you've got a friend.
Oh, yeah,
you've got a friend.
Recently, I was reminded of this wonderful song (James
Taylor’s rendition of it remained on the charts for 6 or 7
years) as I was reading about a study about having friends
published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community
Health.
Positive Social Actions Impact Health and
Longevity
Having friends can help you live longer. If you
like people and like being around people, you may be able to
extend your life. Having more friendships keeps you
going.
Over a 10-year period, a group of scientists followed
study subjects to examine the impact of social interactions on
their health and longevity. Subjects who had five or
more close friends and interacted with them regularly were 22
percent less likely to die than subjects who had no close
friends and few social contacts.
How having a strong support system (and having plenty
to do) keeps you in good physical and emotional condition is
not clear. It might be that friends motivate us to take
better care of ourselves, urging us to seek medical care or to
watch our weight or get help with a problem.
Thomas Blass, Ph.D., associate professor of
epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University, studies how social
patterns influence health. He observed that having
friends helps us stay physically active. Exercising at
the gym or cycling or taking long walks is much easier when
you have someone to do it with.
Having friends also helps in other ways: it can lower
blood pressure, reduce cholesterol and diminish stress
hormones, resulting in a biological impact. This was observed
in a study of rodents in which strokes had been induced.
Half the rodents were isolated, while the other half were kept
in groups. The animals were then made to exercise to
spur their recovery. Those who were rehabilitated in the
company of other rodents did far better and recuperated far
faster than did the loners. Dr. Glass speculates that
humans are wired in much the same way the rodents are: working
together enhances success.
There is further proof that having friends and
maintaining healthy relationships is biologically
beneficial. Scientists have suggested that levels of the
hormone, oxytocin, are increased during positive social
connections. Oxytocin—best known for helping mothers and
babies bond—can help reduce blood pressure and anxiety.
The primary function of oxytocin is to stimulate uterine
muscle contractions during the birthing process. It also
regulates the letdown reflex that allows breast milk to be
released during suckling.
 In another study, the hormone oxytocin appeared to
reinforce healthy interpersonal relationships and healthy
psychological boundaries, suggesting a strong relationship
between human attachment and bonding on a biological
level.
So, there’s considerable evidence supporting Benjamin
Franklin’s famous statement, “We must all hang together, or
assuredly we shall all hang separately.” Living life to
the fullest with family and friends will help ensure a long
and fruitful life.
If you have a healthy marriage or an active social
life, you are bound to live a healthier, longer life. So
call a friend today, have some fun, and keep the oxytocin
flowing.
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Do
You Need Strength Training? | |
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First, let’s dispel some common
myths:
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A woman needs an entirely
different strength training program from a man.
False.
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Lifting weights is only for the
young and fit. If you’re over 60, it’s too
risky. False
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To get any benefit, you need to
lift for 45 minutes five days a week.
False
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Lifting weights turns body fat
into muscle. False
Here are the facts:
Strength training involves lifting
free weights such as barbells, working out on weight
machines, or working against other forms of resistance,
such as elastic bands (see OLEDA Hip, Thigh, Waist
Saver).
Women especially can benefit from
strength training, since they are more prone to thinning
bones (osteoporosis). A strength training program
should be designed to meet your specific needs and
fitness level. Gender has little bearing on the
matter.
A strength training program can
take very little time. Most of the benefit comes
from two or three 15 to 20 minute sessions a
week.
Strength training not only builds
strong muscles, but also increases bone
density.
Strength Training will not turn fat
into muscle, but it does burn calories and thus helps
you shed body fat. In addition, it builds muscle,
and muscle burns more calories than fat does.
Scientific research overwhelmingly
supports the benefits of strength training.
Researchers have found that it reduces blood pressure
and waist-to-hip ratio (see Oleda’s archived e-Newsletter of 9/21/2005, available
in our Web site, http://www.oleda.com/, about the
waist-to-hip ratio), as well as improving daily physical
functioning and blood cholesterol levels.
A reasonable program using moderate
resistance won’t make you look like the Incredible Hulk,
but it can improve your appearance.
 Strong muscles improve your quality
of life. It’s particularly important for athletic
performance, but, for those of us who aren’t athletes,
it’s still nice to be able to tote a bag of groceries
with ease, or carry a child in your arms.
It’s never too late to get
started. Studies with even frail 90-year-olds have
shown benefits.
Strength training does not replace
aerobic exercise. You do need to continue to walk,
swim, or cycle, etc. Those are the activities that
strengthen a very important muscle—your
heart.
Caution
If you have any health problems or
are over 35, ask your doctor before you start. If
you have uncontrolled high blood pressure, any kind of
heart or back problem, arthritis, or a family history of
aneurysm or heart disease, or if you are recovering from
an injury, a medical professional may advise you to wait
until your problems are under control.
Don’t overexert with extra heavy
weights. Overexertion can cause blood vessel walls
to balloon out, and in rare cases can stimulate a
stroke. But, if you use light to moderate weights,
or if you get instruction from a trainer, strength
training is very safe.
How to do it
The easiest and safest way to learn
strength training is with a trainer at a gym, health
club, or the local Y. Tell your prospective trainer what
your goals are and what physical problems you may
have. A good gym will give you an hour or more of
free one-on-one orientation. Then you can decide
if you wish to pay a trainer after that. (You won’t need
to use a trainer for long. Once you learn the
routine and methods specific to your needs, you can
strike out on your own.)
If you decide to work out at home
or at a gym without a paid trainer, a good idea is to
make it fun by doing it with a friend or two (remember
the song).
Start slowly, with light weights.
Over time, increase the repetitions as well as the
weight.
A “set” consists of 8 to 15
repetitions. Doing one set is beneficial, but you
can work up to two and then three sets. Rest for a
minute between sets.
Exhale while you lift and inhale
when you bring the weight down. Don’t hold your
breath. Breathe evenly.
Lifting weights should not be
effortless. The goal is to tax your muscles
somewhat. But don’t overdo it.
Most important: do it
correctly! If you start lifting weights
without knowing the proper techniques, you could cause
injury. If you use a trainer, that won’t
happen. Without a trainer, learn the techniques
first. You can easily do that by going into
Mayo Clinic’s Fitness Web site where you’ll find
all the information you need, including demonstration
videos. Here’s the link: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-training/SM00028.
Get going. After a short
time, you’ll feel—and be—measurably better.
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