Ellen Geller Kamaras
“Keep Moving” has become my guidepost for a healthy life, both physically and mentally. Exercise helps every part of your body including your mind. Exercise can help you feel good by improving your mood.
Good for Body and Soul
When I get stuck or start dwelling on things that are out of my control, I go outside for a walk, rain or shine. I start my mornings with a stroll on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and gaze at the lovely Manhattan skyline. I take three deep breaths, and thank Hashem for creating such beauty and for giving me health and a wonderful family. Some experts refer to this as an “awe walk.” An awe walk is a brief, intentional walk where the walker focuses outwardly on experiencing sensations of wonder, curiosity, and vastness in their surroundings. Consciously looking for beauty, nature, or novelty helps shift attention away from internal worries, reducing stress and boosting mental well-being.
The American Psychological Association has projected that one out of every four 65-year-olds today will live past age 90. One way to make that happen, with Hashem’s help, is to maintain a healthy lifestyle, including exercise. Exercise can help prevent falls and injuries, keep your brain sharp and boost your energy levels.
For adults, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity at least five days per week. Adding in some resistance training to your exercise routine two to three days per week will provide extra benefits. Engaging in 30 minutes of any type of physical activity five days a week may reduce your risk of dying from any cause by 28 percent and from heart disease by 20 percent.
Youngsters Benefit
The importance of daily exercise for promoting healthy physical and mental development applies to young people, too.60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day is recommended for children and teens. Like adults, they should incorporate bone and muscle-strengthening exercises at least three times a week.
Incorporating biking, running, or swimming into your child’s routine enables them to deal with both physical and emotional challenges more successfully. Daily exercise strengthens their bones and muscles, improves their cardiovascular health, helps them sustain a healthy weight, and enhances immune function. Physical exercise improves children’s cognitive function, too, by enhancing brain health, memory, and attention, resulting in better academic performance. Exercise also reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Daily exercise elevates young people’s mood, reduces anxiety and depression, and aids in stress management.
When children form the habit of daily exercise at a young age, it sets the foundation for an active lifestyle as they reach adulthood and, in the future, it will help them to age well.
Indoor Exercise
Did the frigid winter get you down and discourage you from exercising? Spending moderate amounts of time indoors and enjoying downtime has its perks and can help you reset and relax. However, spending too much time at home has its drawbacks. Its pitfalls include, but are not limited to, low levels of Vitamin D, sluggishness, weight gain, stress, anxiety, and depression.
To stay healthy, it’s even more important to exercise when you are stuck indoors for its physical rewards and mental health perks. People who sheltered in place during the pandemic were encouraged to do regular physical activity at home to avoid becoming sedentary.
I was surprised to see how many steps I could score on my Fitbit watch without leaving home. Plus, I have several dance and exercise apps on my phone to keep me moving. My husband calls this “puttering,” but I call it straightening up and organizing the house. Studies show that household chores count as exercise. The positive effects were found to be the same whether one was walking or exercising at the gym, walking, or doing chores such gardening or vacuuming. Mel Robbins is a bestselling author, award-winning podcast host, and an expert on personal growth. She recommends dancing while doing dishes or cooking.
A 2026 study conducted by the AdventHealth Research Institute and the University of Pittsburgh confirms that consistent moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise can significantly slow the structural aging of the brain, making it appear nearly a year younger. The study suggests that 150 minutes of weekly aerobic exercise, (such as brisk walking, cycling, or swimming) can reduce a marker known as “brain-predicted age difference” (brain-PAD) in adults 26 to 58.
To Age Well
Take care to do these actions. Sit on the floor, and get back up on your own. Do yoga, Zumba, or other regular physical activity, jump, and walk briskly. When asked a question, speaking to the point of the topic and do not ramble.
If you can get outdoors to exercise, your body will net additional rewards. The natural sunlight helps your body produce more Vitamin D, which is essential to a healthy immune system. If you are sun sensitive, or have had Basal cell carcinoma, make sure to apply sunscreen.
Dopamine is the “feel good” neurotransmitter that acts as a chemical messenger in your brain to signal reward, motivation, and pleasure. It plays a critical role in movement, memory, and focus It is the brain chemical that is transmitted when we experience pleasure.
Outdoor exercise can increase dopamine as well as serotonin (a chemical messenger that stabilizes mood, sleep, and digestion. It is often called the “feel good” hormone because it promotes feelings of well-being and safety) and other natural endorphin levels that support a positive mood.
What are we waiting for? Let’s get moving!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Ellen Geller Kamaras, CPA/MBA, is an International Coach Federation (ICF) Associate Certified Coach. Her coaching specialties include life, career. and dating coaching. Ellen can be contacted at ellen.kamaras@gmail.com (www.lifecoachellen.com).