The article I decided to write about is from the website of Medical News Today. Holly Wagner writes it. The title of the article is "Lack of Exercise Causes Psychological as Well as Physical Setbacks". It states that a group of older adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease participated in a 10-week exercise rehabilitation program, then were given a home exercise program to follow on their own. The first five weeks consisted of daily aerobic workouts and strength training and stretching. The last five weeks consisted participants continued their exercise regimens at least three times a week. They also attended weekly stress reduction classes throughout the 10-week session.
A year later, the researchers contacted the participants to see if they had stayed with their exercise programs. Out of 28 participants, only 11 had continued with their prescribed exercise programs during the year. The eleven participants were given psychological, cognitive and physical tests that they had taken at the start of their 10-week exercise session.
English: Potential role of Coagulation and the Com...
English: A chest X-ray demonstrating severe COPD. ...
COPD: Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Dis...The eleven participants in the program showed gains in cognitive function, psychological function and physical endurance. The participants that had continued to exercise regularly during the following year maintained these benefits and those who had stopped exercising regularly showed significant declines on all the tests. Even though this research was on older adults with COPD, healthy adults who stop exercising could experience similar declines to a lesser degree.
What I have learned from this article reaffirms what I am learning in class. A good example is my husband, Napoleon, job. He works at an elderly assisted living community facility. There are about 75 residents there. Out of this number, only 5 or 6 are very active. One woman, I will call her Maggie, is 95 years old. I asked her, "What is your secret?"...