Editorial Comment

Joanne Hagen

We live in a land of rich soil, abundant food, sparkling mountain water, and fresh northern air, yet our people are riddled with pain and disease, half the population is overweight, and millions of dollars are spent every year on sleep aids, antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication. We take pride in being at the forefront of technology, compared to so many other countries of the world we live in luxury beyond belief. 

Technology has provided us with vehicles so now we don’t have to walk anywhere. There are air-conditioned, leather-seated tractors that pull machines that do the farm work. Inside the home, one can clap their hands and lights will turn on. We can pick up a palm-sized device and run the television, radio, garage door, pretty much anything electronic in the house, with the touch of the magical remote, and you can do all these things and not move a muscle. Well, except the couple it takes to move a finger. 

Elevators and escalators have relieved us of any exertion on the staircase. Computers have cut down on commuting to work, libraries, post offices, and business meetings. Everything electric has deleted manual labour, we don’t even have to twist a can opener anymore, or go outside to start the car, or move our lips to talk to people on the phone, we can just press numbers. 

Herein lies the problem. Technology has allowed us to lead sedentary lifestyles, and before bad diet, overeating, or stress, an inactive life has the most harmful effect on the body’s overall health condition. As an anology, a fast-flowing river will run clean and clear, the water is crystal because it is moving. The river’s natural flow keeps any sludge from building up – its movement keeps it clean and unclogged. 

The human body needs regular exercise, aerobic exercise, which is anything that will raise your heart rate to where you know you’re working but not out of breath. Biking, walking, swimming, dancing, whatever activity you enjoy, enjoy it for at least 20 minutes three times per week, 30 is better. Doing this repeatedly will speed up your metabolism even when you are at rest, the body’s blood is moving faster through its veins, oxygen is moving along at a better clip, and arteries and venous walls stay stronger because they are in shape. Just like the river, the body will run cleaner and more efficient with constant movement clearing out the toxins. 

Now take the movement out of the free-flowing river; a prolonged drought, say, has dried it to just a trickle. There is very little if any movement. Ponds lie here and there, still, and they start to grow…stuff. River bed plants dry up and small streams get clogged. And the human body reacts the same way to inactivity; it starts to clog up, blood flow is inefficient, therefore so is oxygen flow. Fat begins to gather throughout the body because it is not being burnt off. It begins to make the heart and other organs work much harder to do their job, because they weaken too. 

Some of the most pressing health issues in our country, such as obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and lung diseases, are rooted in the fact that we have become an immobile society. The majority of us sit most of the time, and lie down to sleep the rest of the time. Those whose jobs are manually demanding are ahead of the game by building muscle, but likely are not getting the aerobic component so necessary for optimum heart and lung strength. 

People who get to spend the summer at the lake are hugely blessed. What better environment to begin or continue a fitness program – miles of nature trails for walking/jogging/biking, swimming, scuba diving. Mow your own grass with a push mower, paint the fence, wash the cabin floors by hand. Walk to the store instead of drive. There are dozens of ways to work in a ‘work out’ in daily living. 

We of all ages need to become more active. Keeping active is the best insurance one can get against premature aging, illness, and disease. Regular workouts make the heart, bones, lungs, mind, the entire body stronger. Make it a part of your lifestyle and you will reap the benefits long into the golden years.