A long lazy life
Why lazy people live longer than active people
It is believed that active sports and physical activity are the key to longevity and health.
Former professor of medicine Peter Akst and his daughter, doctor and scientific journalist Michaela Akst-Gadermann, in their acclaimed book "The Lazy live longer" on the basis of the latest scientific research refute this established opinion.
Of course, a healthy lifestyle will not harm anyone, but perhaps even in such a matter it is worth knowing the measure. AdMe.ru publishes an excerpt from the book, offering to get acquainted with the non-banal point of view of the authors.
The first marathon runner paid with his lifeDo you think that you have to expose your body to daily physical exertion in order to keep your youth longer?
Do you hope that daily jogging will save you from a heart attack? Numerous modern studies dispute this point of view.
Ever since the Greek runner Phidippides in 490 BC made a 42.1 km run from the Marathon to Athens and immediately died in the market square, disputes about the justification of excessive sports loads have not subsided. An older study gave impetus to the development of fitness movement: in 1978, an American doctor Pfaffenberger found, based on a survey of 17 thousand Harvard graduates, that the risk of heart disease is significantly reduced if you burn about 2,000 calories a week with physical activity.
From now on, millions of people are working hard on treadmills, squash courts and fitness studios to spend the coveted 2,000 calories. Unfortunately, when quoting the results of this study, it was not mentioned that Harvard students burned calories not so much by exercising as by climbing stairs, walking dogs, doing homework and other everyday activities. In addition, it was forgotten that Pfaffenberger established the presence of a healing effect already when burning an additional 500 kcal per week through physical activity.
Are the efforts spent on fitness justified?You've probably heard and read a lot about how regular sport protects against diseases, rejuvenates and prolongs life.
That's why you go to the fitness club twice a week, although in fact you would rather work in the garden. In addition, once a week you go for a run, although it does not give you much pleasure.
How much do you think you could extend your life if you were doing sports all the time from the age of 20? You will be surprised: lifelong sports activity will add 2 (!) years to your life. Living longer for 2 years is, of course, fine and worth the effort. However, the American cardiologist Jacobi calculated that the time spent on the treadmill, in the fitness studio or on the tennis court to get this increase is at least the same 2 years! This is the gain of life years.
If sport gives you joy, time, of course, does not pass in vain. But, if you are indifferent to him and you are suffering to earn health and longevity, you should think again whether the efforts expended are justified.
Sluggards save energyIf we adhere to the theory of vital energy, active physical activity only wastes precious energy reserves.
The fact that professional athletes rarely live to the age of 80 in good health, full capacity and working capacity should make everyone obsessed with sports passion think. At the same time, we observe numerous examples of average old people who have never played sports or even hated it.
The most famous opponent of the sport, of course, was the English Prime Minister Winston Churchill. He owns the famous saying: "No sport." All his life he adhered to this rule and lived to be 91 years old.
The Queen Mother (the mother of the British Queen Elizabeth II) has definitely never been involved in grueling sports in her life. At the same time, in 2000, she celebrated her 100th birthday.
Sport as a risk factorSport, obviously, cannot be a guarantee of health and long life.
About 25 years ago, sports journalist James Fix infected the whole of America with running fever, releasing the bestseller "Everything about Running". The book quickly became a hit in Germany as well. James Fix was considered the supreme god of fitness at that time.
Millions of Europeans followed his advice and tried to maintain their health and efficiency by running. The author of the book showed a great example – at the age of 50, he ran about 100 km a week. James Fix died at the age of 52 from cardiac arrest after competing in a 4-mile (about 6.5 km) race.
Jack Kelly, the brother of actress Grace Kelly, who won bronze at the Olympic rowing competitions, shared his fate. He also died of a heart attack.
Emil Zatopek, a famous world champion in athletics and multiple winner of Olympic long-distance running competitions, who was awarded the nickname "Czech locomotive" by the sports press for his running style, died at the age of 78 due to a heart attack.
In our eyes, all these athletes were extremely energetic and hardy. Despite their apparent health and sports, in many cases they did not reach the middle of their average life expectancy. The terrifying thing is that daily workouts obviously didn't bring them any benefits.
It also makes you think about the fact that these professional athletes died of an illness from which they were supposed to be protected by sports. After all, running is usually recommended as a protection against heart attack and heart attack.
Sport: quantity decides everything"Everything is poison, everything is medicine; both are determined by the dose," Paracelsus claimed.
This is also true for sports training. In modern literature, sport is mentioned again and again in the role of protection against cancer.
However, this opinion is probably true only for moderate physical activity. Intensive sports loads in this regard do not have any health-improving effect. They may even increase the risk of cancer. In his study conducted on the example of 84 thousand Harvard graduates, Polednak proved that more athletic people were more likely to die from various kinds of tumors than non-athletic ones.
Pfaffenberger conducted research on 50,000 Harvard graduates who exercised more or less 5 hours a week. As a result, it turned out that active athletes were significantly more likely to suffer from prostate cancer.
It also makes you think about the frequency of oncological diseases in relatively young athletes in competitions where endurance is crucial, which Cooper talks about. A close friend of Cooper's died of cancer at the age of 60. Throughout his life, he ran 524 marathons and was the world record holder for the number of completed marathon races.
Of course, these examples cannot serve as exhaustive evidence that sport causes cancer. Nevertheless, they show the doubtfulness of the benefits of intensive sports and convince us that in order to protect our health, it is not worth doing sports where the bet is on endurance.
Minimum movement for optimal healthTo maintain the working capacity of all organs, to strengthen the protective forces and optimal physical and mental form, a certain, properly dosed motor activity is required.
This program has nothing to do with strength fitness and is extremely far from extreme sports.
According to numerous studies, a certain dose of motor activity protects against diseases of the cardiovascular system and benefits health. At the same time, sports loads are not required. The actions that we do every day are enough, that is, we walk the dog, go shopping, climb the stairs or mow the lawn.
Nevertheless, if you have a sedentary job and such activity is also not enough, it is worth doing a sports minimum regularly for balance. Our "sports" program serves to maintain the working capacity of organs and muscles. And yet it is designed to help you relax, and not become another stress factor in life.
Fitness minimum for health and longevityThe program consists of:
- half an hour of vigorous walking 3-4 times a week;peripatetic meditation – a program that combines movement and relaxation (as an alternative to walking);
- stretching the muscles for 10-15 minutes, which we recommend to perform 3 times a week.
- A lot of time and more intensive training is not required for health.
From the point of view of the theory of metabolism, this program is the optimal basis for a long and successful life. Movement beyond this norm is an unnecessary luxury.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru
28.09.2015