MEMBERS & VISITORS
Work Harder, Live Longer
Remaining physically active as we grow older could help to keep our muscles and immune system robust. Of course, diet is very important and that’s why I’m creating my own agricultural homestead. COVID is a western nightmare. Nobody I know or have met has had this illness. School here children do not wear face diapers at school. Adults gather in large numbers and in close proximity of each other without concern. I attended a farewell to a career in Christian ministry for one of our local elders who is well into his 80s. Others gathered at this occasion were into their 80s and 90s and still going strong and were anxious to hug each other as a love expression. African people didn’t invent the term “couch potato”! While most people become frail, a few remain spry.
In a British study published in 2014 they found that among active cyclists, they proved to have reflexes, memories, balance and metabolic profiles that more closely resembled those of 30-year-olds than of the sedentary older group. The message for each of us is that much of what we previously thought of as inevitable in aging is in fact preventable. Read “How Exercise Can Keep Aging Muscles and Immune Systems ‘Young’”
I’m learning Swahili and Kitheraka in my new land of Kenya. Learning a second language as an adult is difficult. But the process may be eased if you exercise while learning. A new study reports that working out during a language class amplifies people’s ability to memorize, retain and understand new vocabulary. The findings provide more evidence that to engage our minds, we should move our bodies. Read “How Exercise Could Help You Learn a New Language” Many scientists suspect that exercise alters the biology of the brain in ways that make it more malleable and receptive to new information, a process that scientists refer to as plasticity.
Prof. Oku Singer
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