running

Posted on Cardiovascular disease, Exercise

5 minutes of exercise each day could lower blood pressure

Findings show importance of activities that raise heart rate for blood pressure control
Findings show the importance of activities that raise heart rate for blood pressure control.

Recent research indicates that incorporating small amounts of physical activity, such as walking uphill or climbing stairs, can help reduce blood pressure.

Research suggests that just five minutes of activity each day could potentially lower blood pressure. Additionally, replacing sedentary behaviour with 20 to 27 minutes of exercise daily—such as uphill walking, stair climbing, running, or cycling—can significantly reduce blood pressure clinically.

Joint senior author Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis, Director of the ProPASS Consortium at the Charles Perkins Centre, stated, “High blood pressure is one of the most significant health issues globally. Unlike some major causes of cardiovascular mortality, there are potentially accessible methods to address this problem beyond just medication.”

Finding that just five extra minutes of exercise daily can lead to significantly lower blood pressure readings highlights the effectiveness of short, intense bouts of physical activity for managing blood pressure.

Hypertension, or consistently high blood pressure, is one of the leading causes of premature death worldwide. It affects 1.28 billion adults and can lead to serious health issues such as stroke, heart attack, heart failure, and kidney damage. Often referred to as the “silent killer,” hypertension typically presents no symptoms, making it especially dangerous.

The research team analysed health data from 14,761 volunteers in five countries to see how replacing one type of movement behaviour with another across the day is associated with blood pressure.  

Each participant used a wearable accelerometer device on their thigh to measure their activity and blood pressure day and night.  

Daily activity was split into six categories: sleep, sedentary behaviour (such as sitting), slow walking, fast walking, standing, and vigorous exercise such as running, cycling or stair climbing. 

The team statistically modelled what would happen if an individual changed various amounts of one behaviour for another to estimate the effect on blood pressure for each scenario and found that replacing sedentary behaviour with 20-27 minutes of exercise per day could potentially reduce cardiovascular disease by up to 28 per cent at a population level.  

Dr. Jo Blodgett, the lead author from the Division of Surgery and Interventional Science at UCL and the Institute of Sport, Exercise, and Health, stated, “Our findings suggest that for most people, engaging in exercise is more effective for reducing blood pressure than opting for less strenuous forms of movement, like walking.”

“The good news is that whatever your physical ability, it doesn’t take long to have a positive effect on blood pressure. What’s unique about our exercise variable is that it includes all exercise-like activities, from running for a bus or a short cycling errand, many of which can be integrated into daily routines.  

“For those who don’t do a lot of exercise, walking still has some positive benefits for blood pressure. But if you want to change your blood pressure, putting more demand on the cardiovascular system through exercise will have the greatest effect.” 

Posted on Exercise

Running throughout middle age keeps ‘old’ adult-born neurons ‘wired’

Network of the neurons

Long-term running substantially modifies the network of the neurons generated in young adult mice upon middle age. Importantly, exercise increases input from hippocampal interneurons (red cells) onto ‘old’ adult-born neurons. These interneurons may play a role in reducing ageing-related hyperexcitability of the hippocampus and thereby benefit memory function. CREDIT Carmen Vivar, Ph.D.

Ageing often is accompanied by cognitive decline. Among the first structures of the brain affected are the hippocampus and adjacent cortices, areas essential for learning and memory. Deficits in cognitive ability are associated with reduced hippocampal volume and degradation of synaptic connectivity between the hippocampus and the (peri)-entorhinal cortex. 

Increasing evidence indicates that physical activity can delay or prevent these structural and functional reductions in older adults. A new study by Florida Atlantic University and CINVESTAV, Mexico City, Mexico, provides novel insight into the benefits of exercise, which should motivate adults to keep moving throughout their lifetime, especially during middle age.

For the study, researchers focused on the effects of long-term running on a network of new hippocampal neurons that were generated in young adult mice, at middle age. These “mice on the run” demonstrate that running throughout middle age keeps old adult-born neurons wired, which may prevent or delay ageing-related memory loss and neurodegeneration.

Adult-born neurons are thought to contribute to hippocampus-dependent memory function. During the so-called ‘critical period’ at about three to six weeks of cell age, they are believed to be temporarily important when they can fleetingly display increased synaptic plasticity. However, these new neurons do remain present for many months, but it was unclear whether those born in early adulthood remain integrated into neural networks and whether their circuitry is modifiable by physical activity in middle age.

To address these questions, researchers used a unique rabies virus-based circuit tracing approach with a long-time-interval between the initial labelling of new neurons and subsequent analysis of their neural circuitry in rodents. More than six months after tagging the adult-born neurons with a fluorescent reporter vector, they identified and quantified the direct afferent inputs to these adult-born neurons within the hippocampus and (sub)cortical areas, when the mice were middle-aged. 

Results of the study, published in the journal eNeuro, show long-term running wires ‘old’ new neurons, born during early adulthood, into a network that is relevant to the maintenance of episodic memory encoding during ageing.

“Long-term exercise profoundly benefits the ageing brain and may prevent ageing-related memory function decline by increasing the survival and modifying the network of the adult-born neurons born during early adulthood, and thereby facilitating their participation in cognitive processes,” said Henriette van Praag, Ph.D., corresponding author, an associate professor of biomedical science in FAU’s Schmidt College of Medicine and a member of the FAU Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute.

Findings from the study showed long-term running significantly increased the number of adult-born neurons and enhanced the recruitment of presynaptic (sub)-cortical cells to their network.

“Long-term running may enhance pattern separation ability, our ability to distinguish between highly similar events and stimuli, a behavior closely linked to adult neurogenesis, which is among the first to display deficits indicative of age-related memory decline,” said Carmen Vivar, Ph.D., corresponding author, Department of Physiology, Biophysics and Neuroscience, Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN in Mexico.

Aging-related memory function decline is associated with the degradation of synaptic inputs from the perirhinal and entorhinal cortex onto the hippocampus, brain areas that are essential for pattern separation, and contextual and spatial memory.

“We show that running also substantially increases the back-projection from the dorsal subiculum onto old adult-born granule cells,” said van Praag. “This connectivity may provide navigation-associated information and mediate the long-term running-induced improvement in spatial memory function.”

Results from the study show that running not only rescued perirhinal connectivity but also increased and altered the contribution of the entorhinal cortices to the network of old adult-born neurons.

“Our study provides insight as to how chronic exercise, beginning in young adulthood and continuing throughout middle age, helps maintain memory function during aging, emphasizing the relevance of including exercise in our daily lives,” said Vivar.

Posted on Exercise

Using running to escape everyday stresses may lead to exercise dependence instead of mental wellbeing

Scientists find that using running to escape from negative experiences rather than to escape to positive ones may lead to exercise dependence among runners
Scientists find that using running to escape from negative experiences rather than to escape to positive ones may lead to exercise dependence among runners

Recreational running offers a lot of physical and mental health benefits – but some people can develop exercise dependence, a form of addiction to physical activity which can cause health issues. Shockingly, signs of exercise dependence are common even in recreational runners. A study published in Frontiers in Psychology investigated whether the concept of escapism can help us understand the relationship between running, wellbeing, and exercise dependence.

“Escapism is an everyday phenomenon among humans, but little is known regarding its motivational underpinnings, how it affects experiences, and the psychological outcomes from it,” said Dr Frode Stenseng of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, lead author of the paper.

Running to explore or to evade?

“Escapism is often defined as ‘an activity, a form of entertainment, etc. that helps you avoid or forget unpleasant or boring things’. In other words, many of our everyday activities may be interpreted as escapism,” said Stenseng. “The psychological reward from escapism is reduced self-awareness, less rumination, and a relief from one’s most pressing, or stressing, thoughts and emotions.”

Escapism can restore perspective, or it can act as a distraction from problems that need to be tackled. Escapism which is adaptive, seeking out positive experiences, is referred to as self-expansion. Meanwhile maladaptive escapism, avoiding negative experiences, is called self-suppression. Effectively, running as exploration or as evasion.

“These two forms of escapism are stemming from two different mindsets, to promote a positive mood, or prevent a negative mood,” said Stenseng.

Escapist activities used for self-expansion have more positive effects but also more long-term benefits. Self-suppression, by contrast, tends to suppress positive feelings as well as negative ones and lead to avoidance.

Self-suppression associated with exercise dependence

The team recruited 227 recreational runners, half men and half women, with widely varying running practices. They were asked to fill out questionnaires which investigated three different aspects of escapism and exercise dependence: an escapism scale which measured preference for self-expansion or self-suppression, an exercise dependence scale, and a satisfaction with life scale designed to measure the participants’ subjective wellbeing.

The scientists found that there was very little overlap between runners who favored self-expansion and runners who preferred self-suppression modes of escapism. Self-expansion was positively related with wellbeing, while self-suppression was negatively related to wellbeing. Self-suppression and self-expansion were both linked to exercise dependence, but self-suppression was much more strongly linked to it. Neither escapism mode was linked to age, gender, or amount of time a person spent running, but both affected the relationship between wellbeing and exercise dependence. Whether or not a person fulfilled criteria for exercise dependence, a preference for self-expansion would still be linked to a more positive sense of their own wellbeing.

Although exercise dependence corrodes the potential wellbeing gains from exercise, it seems that perceiving lower wellbeing may be both a cause and an outcome of exercise dependency: the dependency might be driven by lower wellbeing as well as promoting it.

Similarly, experiencing positive self-expansion might be a psychological motive that promotes exercise dependence.

“More studies using longitudinal research designs are necessary to unravel more of the motivational dynamics and outcomes in escapism,” said Stenseng. “But these findings may enlighten people in understanding their own motivation, and be used for therapeutical reasons for individuals striving with a maladaptive engagement in their activity.”

Posted on Exercise

Can aerobic exercise slow down ageing?




Running is better than weight training at reversing signs of ageing

Running is better than weight training at reversing signs of ageing

“Running is better than weight training at reversing signs of ageing,” reports The Independent.

Researchers from Germany assessed the impact of 3 types of exercise – high intensity interval training, endurance walking or running, and weight training – on signs of ageing in human blood cells.




They found that, after 6 months of exercising for 45 minutes 3 times a week, all types of exercise improved fitness, but only interval training and running or walking had an effect on signs of cellular ageing.

The researchers measured the length of telomeres, which are protective caps at the end of chromosomes (coils of DNA found in all human cells).

Telomeres help prevent damage to the chromosomes that encode the cells’ genetic information.

As we age, telomeres shorten, meaning chromosomes are more likely to get damaged. This is one of the ways in which cells show signs of age.

Previous studies have linked longer blood cell telomeres to healthier blood vessels and hearts.

The researchers found telomeres shortened slightly among people who did no exercise or weight training, but lengthened among those who ran or walked, or did interval training.

But these findings were only based on 124 people. All types of exercise have benefits for health, including weight training.

This study suggests weight training may be best seen as a useful addition to aerobic exercise, such as running or fast walking, rather than a replacement for it.

This reflects NHS advice to do both types of exercise.

Read more about the recommended exercise guidelines for adults.

Where did the story come from?

The study was carried out by researchers at the Universität des Saarlandes, Universitätklinikum Leipzig and Hermann-Neuberger-Sportschule in Germany, with funding from the Corona Foundation, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Saarland University, Saarland Ministry of the Interior, and Leipzig University.

It was published in the peer-reviewed European Heart Journal.




The Independent gave a good overview of the study, but didn’t mention the high dropout rate. More than half the people taking part in the study dropped out.

What kind of research was this?

This was a randomised controlled trial (RCT). These are usually the best way to test whether an intervention (such as a particular type of exercise) works.

This study only included results from the people who completed at least 70% of the training sessions, rather than all those originally assigned to the exercise.

This per-protocol analysis is less usual than an intention-to-treat analysis, as intention-to-treat gives more of a “real world” picture of the results of asking someone to take part in an exercise programme.

What did the research involve?

For the main study, researchers recruited 266 non-smoking adults aged 30 to 60 who were in good health but didn’t exercise on a regular basis.

Everyone did a cardiovascular fitness test that measured maximum oxygen uptake while exercising, and gave blood for telomere testing and measurement.

The participants were assigned to 1 of 4 groups:

the control group were asked to maintain their lifestyle and diet for the next 6 months

the endurance group was asked to run or walk briskly at a level that used 60% of their heart rate reserve (according to a heart monitor) for 45 minutes 3 times a week

the interval training group was asked to exercise for 45 minutes 3 times a week; each session involved a 10-minute warm-up of fast walking and then running to 60 to 70% capacity, 4 bouts of high-intensity running at 80 to 90% capacity for 4 minutes each, then slow running at 65 to 70% capacity for 3 minutes and 10 minutes cool-down running – this type of exercise regime is often referred to as high intensity interval training (HIIT)

the weight training group was asked to exercise for 45 minutes 3 times a week, switching between 8 weight machine-based exercises, such as chest pressing exercises

The groups had to attend at least 1 supervised exercise session a week. At the end of the study, people retook the fitness test and gave blood samples for telomere testing.

Only people from the exercise groups who completed at least 70% of the exercise sessions (55 sessions) were included in the results.

As well as measuring telomere length, the researchers measured the activity of a protein called telomerase, which protects telomeres.

What were the basic results?

Of the 266 people who started the study, 142 dropped out because of:

not taking part in exercise (43 people)

personal reasons (28 people)

orthopaedic problems (29 people)

injury (1 person)

other reasons (18 people)

missing data or implausible test results (23 people)

Based on the 124 people left, researchers found:

all 3 training groups had similar improvements in their physical fitness compared with the control group

all 3 training groups increased their maximum running speed compared with the control group

the endurance group and the interval training group both had small increases in the length of the telomeres on the chromosome of their white blood cells, by about 3.3% to 3.5%

the control group and the weight training group had either no change or a small decrease in telomere length, depending on the method of measurement

measurements of telomerase activity increased twofold in the endurance group and the interval training group, but didn’t change in the control group or the weight training group

How did the researchers interpret the results?

The researchers said the study showed that “completing a training programme of moderate or intensive endurance exercise led to potent anti-ageing effects in circulating blood cells”, which they said was “consistent with beneficial effects on cardiovascular health in the long term”.

They say the study results “support the European Society of Cardiology’s current guideline recommendations that resistance exercise [weight training] should be complementary [in addition] to endurance training, rather than a substitute”.

Conclusion

This study adds to our understanding of how exercise can help keep people fit and healthy as they age.

In addition to the benefits of exercise already known – such as improved heart and lung health, lower cholesterol, better mental health, and stronger bones and muscles – exercise may also protect us from ageing at a cellular level.

But there are limitations to what the study can tell us. The high dropout rate indicates that adopting an exercise regime that required 45 minutes of training, 3 times a week, isn’t always easy.

Because the results are based on only the people who completed at least 70% of the exercise sessions, we don’t know the effect on telomere length for people who did less exercise over the 6-month period.

We also don’t know the long-term physical effects of the small changes in telomere length observed in the study.

While there is evidence from other studies that longer telomere length in white blood cells is beneficial for the cardiovascular system, we can’t tell that from this study.

Exercise clearly has many benefits and, even if the telomere length changes don’t translate directly into physical benefits, keeping active is a great way to stay healthy as we get older.

The NHS recommends that most adults should do:

at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity, such as cycling or brisk walking every week, and

strength exercises on 2 or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms)

Or:

75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity, such as running or a game of singles tennis every week, and

strength exercises on 2 or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms)

Or:

a mix of moderate and vigorous aerobic activity every week, such as 2 30-minute runs plus 30 minutes of brisk walking, which equates to 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity, and

strength exercises on 2 or more days a week that work all the major muscles (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms)

Even if you have been inactive for years, it’s never too late to increase your activity levels whatever your age or overall health.

Find out how to get active your way

Analysis by Bazian
Edited by NHS Website

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Marathon Running for Beginners


Dan Chabert

Dan Chabert

Marathon Running for Beginners

Half marathons are a great activity to kick off your endurance and getting started to join the competitive world of running. But just like everything in life, a marathon needs proper preparation; not only physical preparation, but you should also know a thing or two about marathons before participating in one.




No one is born an expert, which is why we’ve compiled this guide for beginners to get started in the world of marathons and competitive running.

Choosing Your First Half Marathon

First off, you should think about the distance you’re going to run during your first half marathon, which should be 13.1 miles.Unless you’re a fit athlete, you shouldn’t be aiming for the first three places. It’s great to challenge your body and mind in order to generate notable progress, but always keep in consideration your own limits – you don’t want to run short on your first half marathon, plus you’ll probably be running along some experienced marathon runners; it wouldn’t be wise to try and keep up with them during your first attempt.

While there may not be any easy marathons, you can certainly aim for one that adjusts to your capacity. A 13.1 mile marathon should be your goal as a first timer; once again, this is a decent mileage for those who have never participated in similar events. If you have experience as a runner or jogger things will go smoother, but with proper preparation anybody can do it, which takes us to the following step.

Physical Preparation

For intermediate and veteran runners, a half marathon is an excellent challenge to test your progress. Your physical preparation routine should focus on endurance, not speed. You can start preparing anywhere between 4 and 8 weeks before the event; set a slower pace and increase your mileage to adjust your body to a marathon-like training routine.

This routine is also adaptable to fit athletes that are transitioning to running from a sport. You’re going to follow the same routine as intermediate and experienced runners, so make sure your body is ready for it.

Those of you who have a hard time hitting 3 miles, your half marathon preparation should begin 12 weeks before the event. It’s a common mistake to chunk up on those miles and get frustrated when you’re not able to reach the goals. Don’t be afraid of breaking your routine apart; if you’re aiming for a 3 mile goal initially, separate it into three consecutive 1-mile goals instead.




A good place to test your initial skills is a charity run. These events usually aim for a general audience; meaning they aren’t too exigent in order to increase the amount of people that can participate in it. Don’t underestimate them though, you’re still a beginner and some of them can put up a decent challenge. The best part of it? You can get to train for your first half-marathon while supporting a good cause.

Half-marathons are very beginner-friendly. This includes preparation, which can be adjusted to almost any lifestyle. Your routine should consist of a few days of running mixed up with aerobic exercises of decent intensity, such as cross training. For the most important part of your routine, you’ll have rest; make sure you get enough of it, this is when your body makes the important changes.

 

Newbie Mistakes to Avoid

The weeks have passed and you smashed your preparation routine. You’re standing on the starting point ready to blast 13.1 miles, and here are some of the mistakes you’re going to avoid:

 

  • Starting too fast. Not only will it make you a newbie, but it will also let everyone else know you’re a newbie. You definitely don’t want to drain your body out of energy by sprinting the first few miles, just to find yourself breathless before you even reach the half of the mileage.

 

  • Trying to keep up with the first places. This one is understandable on experienced runners who are trying half marathons for the first time. However, for newbies, this is a mistake that can put you off the marathon for good. You’ll be amongst some very sharp runners and marathon masters, you don’t need to keep up with them – your first half marathon is about you.

 

  • Quitting half-marathons if you fail. This is the worst of them all. There’s no shame in failing to reach to finish line, it’s actually something to make you stronger. You gave your best, and you can keep on giving your best the next half marathon. To reach success, you’ve got to go through failure regardless of the road you take. Once you complete your first half-marathon, you’ll start bursting through many more.

 Writer Bio Dan Chabert

Dan Chabert, an entrepreneur from Copenhagen, Denmark is also an ultramarathon distance runner. He spends most of his time on runnerclick.com, monicashealthmag.com & nicershoes.com and he has been featured on runner blogs all over the world.