Introduction
Exercise can help the human body stay in shape, but why is it important to exercise everyday. Exercise can keep the body in shape, for example working out and eating healthier can keep weight balanced. Exercise benefits the body by avoiding an serious illnesses or disease such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Working out has also been found to improve your self esteem when you lose weight. This is why exercise is important for the body.
Working Out and Eating Healthy
Different ways to keep the your body in shape is to workout and eat healthy. There is different kinds of workouts, just find the right one (Simple ways to keep your body in shape, 2017). Working out can be fun like swimming, swimming can be fun or playing a game of basketball or even soccer. Eating healthy is another big one to keep the body in shape, like eating an apple can keep you shape because it makes the stomach feel full for 3-4 hours (5 simple tips for fitness success, 20016). Eating healthy meals doesn’t sound very good but this can also be fun for example, if eating fruits is good those are healthy for all ages. This is how working out and eating healthy keeps your body in shape.
Working Out for 1 Hour Can Lead to Motivation
Exercising for one hour can lead to motivation, it leads to motivation because most people who are overweight or trying to get healthier see improvement in their body and minds. There are different types of exercise for example, yoga, swimming, running, or even playing sports (Simple ways to keep your body in shape, 2017). These sports make athletes feel good about themselves because it’s great exercise and their doing what they love. If staying motivated during exercise there are many different benefits like, having a positive mindset, or ocamplashing many different things in life (5 simple tips for fitness success, 2016). This is how working out for one hour can help people who are struggling with motivation be positive.
Get Sleep
Be sure to get six to eight hours of sleep, and take naps throughout the day. Getting the right amount of sleep is one of the best ways to take care of your body (5 simple tips for fitness success, 2016). Getting approximately six to eight hours of sleep helps your body regain energy, and you will most likely feel less tired. Taking a nap is also a great way to benefit the body, this helps because it makes sure that the body has enough energy to be able to exercise (5 simple tips for fitness success, 2016). This is why it is important to make sure you have the right amount of sleep.
Avoid Illness and Disease
People who workout are less likely to get any kind of disease or illness. Working out has more health benefits like avoiding serious disease for example cancer, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (Simple ways to keep your body in shape, 2017). Avoiding illnesses has benefits too for example, living longer, not living in pain, and avoiding serious issues in the future. Exercising avoids illnesses because it strengthens muscles and it makes the heart stronger (Simple ways to keep your body in shape, 2017). This is how exercising avoids illnesses or disease.
Improvement in Self Esteem and Weight Loss
Exercising is commonly used for weight loss, and people who have been overweight see their final result their self esteem and and motivation began to go positive. Working out generally makes others feel good about themselves because they are healthy or because they lost weight (Simple ways to keep your body in shape). They may feel good about themselves because they accomplished something. Exercising is used for weight loss because it breaks down the fat that is stored in bodys (simple ways to keep your body in shape, 2017). This is why exercising is used for weight loss and how it improves self esteem.
Strengthens Your Muscles
Working out has also been found to make fat into muscles, or it strengthens your muscles even more. Working out is either used to lose weight or strength muscles, working out has also been found to make your heart which is a muscle to stronger (5 simple tips for success, 2016). This is why people who work out more than others live longer. Exercising doesn’t only strengthen your muscles it is also used to make others apparently look better (Simple ways to keep your body in shape, 2017). This is how exercising makes muscles stronger.
Conclusion
This is how exercising helps the body stay in shape, and why it is important to exercise everyday. Exercising can keep the body in shape, for example working out and eating healthier can keep weight balanced. Exercising benefits the body by avoiding an serious illnesses or disease such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. This is why working out has also been found to improve your self esteem when you lose weight. These are reasons why exercising is healthy for the body.
The Benefits Of Yoga For Children With And Without Disabilities
Many children in schools are faced with overwhelming pressure to do well and complete a lot of work in a very small amount of time. Stress is something that takes over children’s lives while they are getting their education. However, it has been found that yoga actually proves to have great benefits with very minor weakness for children with and without disabilities. Today over thirteen million people in America actually practice yoga in their life (Eggleston, 2015). For example, yoga can actually improve a child’s over all wellbeing and keep stress levels regulated. In addition, children with disabilities can actually improve and make their condition more stable with the aid of yoga. Yoga is a wonderful activity to do, because it can improve children’s emotional, physical, and cognitive learning.
Practicing yoga can have emotional benefits for children. For example, children are faced with heavy pressure to do well in school and complete all their assignments on time. A lot of time this stress can also come from the children having low self-esteem (Eggleston, 2015). Yoga works in a way that helps children to find peace with their stress through various different breathing exercises. By learning how to control their breathing they are more prepared to take a deep breath and reflect in times of high stress. In addition, the yoga teacher can also help to regulate the activities to fit each child’s needs. When the yoga is geared towards each individual child the outcome is a lot better. Focusing on the individual child’s successes are extremely important in making yoga a more successful activity for them. To add, self- esteem is also shown to improve with yoga. Why? It is simply, because it allows each child to focus on themselves and feel good about what they are doing. In the study mentioned in the article called “Effect of yoga or physical exercise on physical, cognitive and emotional measures in children: a randomized controlled trial”, it showed that after just three months children were more obedient, confident, performing better in school, and physically more fit (Telles, Singh, Kumar, Kumar, & Balkrishna, 2015). When a child is more emotionally stable everything else seems to also fall into a more positive and stable position.
Another benefit of starting yoga with children is that the earlier it is learned the better lifestyle and attitude these children will have as adults. It is known that a lot of people do not actually begin to take yoga classes until they are much older. However, when it is enforced at a young age these children in later life are more self-aware, confident, and show academic success (Eggleston, 2015). Obviously, this is a benefit because these children can than apply what they learned and use it in their adult life when it comes to dealing with the stress of whatever occupation they choose to pursue. It can even be beneficial in dealing with their home life and keeping their family life stable. Also, these habits can then be passed on from generation to generation leading to more stable and healthy families.
In addition, yoga can have wonderful benefits for children with disabilities. Children with down syndrome can be positively affected by yoga due to the structure and direction yoga provides. In the article by Young, Sillman-French, and Crawford they mention that yoga can give children with down syndrome the chance to practice and actually get better at concentrating, balancing, and self-control in their own lives (2017). For these children, it is not always easy to concentrate, but with yoga being a relaxing yet beneficial activity it can really improve some of their lives. In the study mentioned in the article it talked about how children with autism actually improved their gross motor skills, balance, posture, eye contact, imitation skills, attention, sleep, playing with others, breathing, and anxiety (Young et. al., 2017). These are particular tasks that children with autism struggle with on a daily basis. The idea that yoga can help them improve these things is very cool and provides the children with different options than learning from a doctor so to speak.
Furthermore, yoga can help children who have suffered from rough or traumatic pasts. Although yoga cannot erase the damage that has occurred in these children’s past lives it can help reduce the pain. For instance, in 2010 there was a huge earthquake in Haiti and many children lost both or one parent. This was a traumatic event for these children and many developed PTSD. In the study mentioned in the article called “Yoga to Reduce Trauma-Related Distress and Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties Among Children Living in Orphanages in Haiti: A Pilot Study” it found that all children who had PTSD and decided to begin yoga were actually less stressed and found it a lot easier to calm down. They were able to get a handle on this mental disorder and find a way to better deal with it through an activity that was fun and relaxing. In addition, they also found a huge difference in their respect for others and a high level of resilience (Culver, Whetten, Boyd, & O’ Donnell, 2015). Often times children suffering from traumatic events have trouble with connecting with people due to the high level of pain they feel inside. Yoga is able to help each child get away from whatever is bothering them by completing relaxing exercises. However, yoga does allow for an escape for a bit, but once the session is over it than allows children to know the tools to help deal with their problem.
Physical benefits can also arise when children practice yoga in schools. For instance, a lot of children are glued to their technology that they are not getting the proper amount of exercise. In one study, it showed that children had increased levels of strength after participating in yoga that showed trunk strength and endurance (Telles et. al., 2015). These children went from taking a break from their technology to doing something that they not only enjoyed, but were benefiting from. They were gaining strength while doing something that peaked their interest. In addition, it was also proven that the more exercise the children did, the better their cognitive learning got. For example, they were able to study, concentrate, and listen a lot better (Telles et. al., 2015). These are all skills that are extremely important for students, but also just people in general.
Although, yoga has many benefits just like anything it does have a few minor downfalls. For instance, yoga can be extremely expensive. Not every school has enough money to fund yoga instructors to come to their school and teach their children. This really is a big disadvantage for these children because as learned before yoga can be really beneficial to children. In the article called “Were all in this together: A qualitative study of predominantly low-income minority participants in a yoga trial for chronic back pain” it stated that nine and a half percent of adults specifically minorities and socioeconomic status could not gain access to alternative therapies like yoga (Keosaian, et. al., 2016). This just shows that something that could be an alternative treatment to a conventional one is not an option for a lot of people who are not doing well financially.
Another downfall to yoga is that it is not universally fitting to everyone. For instance, some children are just not as prone to a more relaxed activity than others. Although yoga can help children who are on the rowdier side to become more composed it still might not be an enjoyable activity for these children to participate in. The problem with this is that if yoga is meant to relieve stress and help gain positive overall well- being than it really should be an activity that the child likes to do. If the child is not into the activity often times they will not give it all of their efforts. The point of the yoga is to create an environment where children will be learning new techniques, but also enjoying what they are doing.
In conclusion, yoga is something that serves as a very positive activity for children to be involved in during their youth. It gives them proper tools to deal with stress for their current lives, but also their future ones. It can increase self-esteem by working with how to deal with their stress through breathing exercises. Not only that but it also serves a wonderful way for children to stay physically in shape. For example, it helps with endurance, balance, and agility. These are all things that can be very beneficial to young children who like to run and get active the majority of the time. Moreover, it can be beneficial to children with disabilities or ones who have been through trauma. It can provide these children with tools on how to better cope with their trauma or disabilities and live more prosperous lives. All and all, yoga is something that is absolutely amazing because it improves a child’s well-being and guarantees a less stressful future.
References
- Culver, K. A., Whetten, K., Boyd, D. L., & O’Donnell, K. (2015). Yoga to Reduce Trauma-Related Distress and Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties Among Children Living in Orphanages in Haiti: A Pilot Study. Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, 21(9), 539–545. https://doi-org.ezproxy.montclair.edu/10.1089/acm.2015.0017
- Diamond, L. (2012). The Benefits of Yoga in Improving Health. Primary Health Care, 22(2), 16–19. https://doi-org.ezproxy.montclair.edu/10.7748/phc2012.03.22.2.16.c8961
- Eggleston, B. (2015). The Benefits of Yoga for Children in Schools. International Journal of Health, Wellness & Society, 5(3), 1–7. https://doi-org.ezproxy.montclair.edu/10.18848/2156-8960/CGP/v05i03/41125
- Keosaian, J. E., Lemaster, C. M., Dresner, D., Godersky, M. E., Paris, R., Sherman, K. J., & Saper, R. B. (2016). ‘We’re all in this together’: A qualitative study of predominantly low income minority participants in a yoga trial for chronic low back pain. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 24, 34-39. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.montclair.edu:2048/10.1016/j.ctim.2015.11.007
- Telles, S., Singh, N., Kumar, A., Kumar, A., & Balkrishna, A. (2013). Effect of yoga or physical exercise on physical, cognitive and emotional measures in children: a randomized controlled trial. Child & Adolescent Psychiatry & Mental Health, 7(1), 1–28. https://doi-org.ezproxy.montclair.edu/10.1186/1753-2000-7-37
- Young, A. J., Silliman-French, L., & Crawford, L. (2017). Yoga for Young Children with Down Syndrome. Palaestra, 31(4), 18–25. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.montclair.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=126273855&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Benefits Of Stretchig Before Playing Sports
Participating in some sort of physical activity or a sport is something everyone does in their life at one time or another. How each person prepares to participate in their sport can vary from person to person. In order to compete in a sport to one’s maximum ability, stretching before playing is a necessity. Stretching before playing sports helps athletes prevent minor and major injuries such as muscle pulls, strains and tears. Breathing between as well as how long each stretched position is held is extremely important when stretching before playing sports. Although stretching is sometimes overlooked, stretching provides athletes with complete muscle control and flexibility in order to perform at peak performance.
Stretching can help prevent Injuries which are something that all athletes have to endure at one time or another. Whether it be strained muscles, torn ligaments, or even fractured or broken bones, injuries are a piece to the puzzle of playing sports. An common injury in athletes is overuse injury. Overuse injuries can occur when repetitive stress is applied to either a “muscle, tendon or bone which results in microtraumatic damage when adequate time heal or repair has not been alloted” (Kriz, 2011, page 134). Although some athletes are more prone to injury than others, many exercises can be done to help prevent the likelihood of an injury occurring. One of these exercises would include DPP (dynamic pre-participation stretching drills). DPP drills are stretching exercises that are conducted prior to exercise to prepare the joints for movement and muscles for their optimal activation. These dynamic stretches involve movement of the body which help the blood circulate. DPP drills are supposed to “be performed between pre-participation stretching and actual performance,” to avoid lingering stretch-induced stretch loss (Bartholdy, 2016, para.19). Not only do these stretches help blood flow in the body and muscle temperature, but they also allow increased endurance, improved coordination,as well as improved balance, and improvements in mental preparedness. Overall, performing these stretches before sporting events is beneficial to the athletes because they help the possibility of an injury from occurring.
The amount of time to stretch has to be considered to help athletes benefit from stretching. . However, researchers finally have data to back up the “perfect” amount of time to hold a stretch. In an experiment where during their students school PE class, 37 school children, specifically 18 boys and 19 girls, had the flexibility of their both of their hamstrings measured. The measurements were taken during the beginning of week 0 of the experiment, in the middle “(week 18)” and at the end, “(week 34)”(Mayorga-Vega, 2017).The stretching exercises that the students performed included flexing their bodies at the hip, as well as the “sit and reach stretch” where the stretching participant sits on the floor and attempt Once the position the endpoint of the range of motion was reached, the participants held it for anotts to touch their toes and hold the position. Both of these stretches help the flexibility of the hamstring muscle.her “20 seconds” (Mayorga-Vega, 2017). Kriz’s (2011) research found that although the stretching program was conducted only once per week, the students hamstring flexibility increased to a large extent. The research also showed that at least four to five 20-second stretches should be applied to allow pain tolerance to be decreased” (Kriz, 2011, para. 10). The research showed that holding a stretch for anything less than 20 seconds will not make a significant difference in lengthening muscle fibers and tissue. If a stretch is held for more than 30 seconds, this increases the risk of an injury occurring. Stretching for too long can hurt the body, and not stretching enough could possibly not benefit the body.
Breathing between sets while stretching is a very important component to understanding and maximizing to the full extent, the effect stretching has on the human body before playing sports. According to Deise Kent, a massage therapist, the proper breathing technique is to “Take deep breaths. Breathe in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. You should move into your stretch on the exhale and hold the stretch while you inhale” (Personal Communication). Breathing while you stretch is important because it allows the human body, as well as the mind, to be relaxed while stretching causing the muscles being worked to be more focused on. Having the proper breathing technique while stretching is also important because it allows the stretch being conducted to reach its maximum range of motion and the maximum time. If the sports athletes breathing is too fast or too slow, then he or she could possibly limit the amount of time the stretch is able to be held, or the length of how far the participant is able to reach while stretching.
Stretching before playing sports is beneficial to athletes and their performance because it helps strengthen and loosen the muscles which helps prevent injury. This allows them to be more comfortable to use as the muscles become more flexible. This is “because stretching strengthens the muscles and encourages proper alignment, the human body posture will be less slouched and more vertical and aligned” (Zemadanis,2015, p.104). Stretching over time gives the athletes bodies time to shift into the proper areas, which helps the health of the body. In order for an athlete to perform at the highest level, he or she’s body must be properly aligned, created the maximum possibility of performing at he or she’s best. If the body is sore or has misplaced pieces, the athlete could quite possibly be sore, and not able to fully perform a task or exercise due to the range of motion allotted. This would cause the athlete pain, therefore hindering the athletes capability of performing a specific task at the highest level possible. Stretching before playing sports also has “An action on the viscoelastic properties of muscles (reduction in the stiffness or possible tensions, as well as an improvement in the relaxation)”(Gremion, 2015). The muscles of the athlete would be much less stiff, if any stiff at all. This would cause the athlete body to feel more relaxed and perform at a higher level then before. On the other hand, if an athletes muscles feel stiff, hard or uncomfortable, then the athlete may even be thinking about his or her discomfort, more than the actual sporting event that is taking place. This would cause distractions and the athlete would begin to perform at a lower level then before. In order for an sports player to perform at the highest level possible, he or she must be focused to their highest capacity. This is not possible if their muscles are stiff and cold, causing pain and distraction towards them.
Stretching properly can help reduce mental stress which aids athletes in performing at the highest level they are capable of. There are two types of major stress. Mental stress as well as physical stress. Performing some sort of physical activity that involves physical stress on the body such as stretching and yoga, can help relieve mental stress. “Stretching improves elasticity and mobility, which allows for relaxed movement and less tension”(Kriz, 2011, pg. 207). Tension in the muscles can cause the muscles to become stiff and is the source of muscle pulls and tears. As the muscles become inflexible and fim, the probability of an injury occurring is increased. In most cases, if stretching is done properly, then muscle strains and tears should not be much of a concern to one. Mental stress is something that no one likes to have. Stress can be described as the way your body responds to a particular type of need or demand. For one to become stressed, he or she most likely has been affected by experiences. As people begin to feel stressed out by an event or situation around them, their bodies react to this by “releasing chemicals into the blood which restricts blood flow” which can cause tension their muscles as well as their lower back. (Notarnicola, 2017, pg. 584) Stretching stimulates receptors in the nervous system that decrease the production of stress hormones. The secret is to isolate the muscles that store tension by stretching the lower back, shoulders, and neck.
Although stretching before participating in sports has its benefits, it also can be harmful if not performed properly. However, if done in an incorrect manner, stretching can harm, rather than help the body. Specifically, if dynamic stretches, or stretches where there are progressive movements of muscle that are not held in the end position, such as torso twists, walking lunges, or hamstring stretches are done too quickly, then the possible risk of injury is increased. In an experiment where forty participants conducted calf muscle stretches for 4 weeks, the results showed that “four of the forty participants who stretched too long, had increased calf muscle pain”(Bartholdy, 2016, p.699). Stretching for a longer period of time than the recommended time can cause already current pain to be increased significantly. Overtime, this would put much wear and tear on the human body causing the body to become more weak and more vulnerable to injuries and recurring injuries. Performing improper stretches can harm the human body more than people think. Performing these stretches improperly can actually weaken the bodies muscles, which can cause physical stress on the body. Muscle tightness is due to an imbalance. For instance, according to a study conducted at the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Texas compared how muscles changed depending on whether or not they were stretched in the same person. They found that stretching even just one muscle can also impair another muscle that was not stretched, possibly through a “central nervous system inhibitory mechanism” (Bartholdy, 2016, p.694). “That means that stretching (and weakening) a muscle in your left leg could weaken a muscle in your right leg that you didn’t even stretch” (Johnson, 2016) This means that if one muscle is stretched to an extent, and another is left out of being stretched, then that left out muscle can be impaired, or even weaker than the other. This would cause the muscle to over time be much weaker and more of a likelihood to have an injury occur as it cannot endure too much stress. Although stretching one muscle and not another is not beneficial, this issue can be solved very easily. Both muscles need to be stretched. For instance, if a person is stretching their hamstrings, stretch both. Not just one. Stretching both muscles is a very easy way of avoiding injuries and helping an athlete perform at a higher level. In the end, most people don’t agree with the fact that stretching causes muscle weakness because they don’t feel weak after stretching. This is because most people feel the tight part of muscle imbalance and usually don’t feel the muscle weakness until it starts to affect a joint or if it is severe enough to reduce the muscles power. So someone may feel their hamstring to be tight and the need to stretch it, but usually the weakness is in the antagonist muscle. An antagonist muscle is a muscle that opposes the action of another.
Everyone loves participating in sports, but if someone wants to participate in the long-run, then stretching is a necessity. Stretching before playing sports helps prevent all types of injuries such as muscle pulls, strains and tears. How one breathes between sets, as well as how long each stretched position is held is very important when stretching before playing sports. Stretching can also help the mental part of the human body as it allows mental stress through one’s mind to be decreased as it relaxes the muscles physically and mentally. Even though stretching can possibly have negative results, that is only due to improper stretching practices. This would include stretching for too long, over stretching particular muscle, and not stretching a near muscle the same. All of the “negative” effects of stretching can be changed very easily if the stretches are performed properly, and equally. Stretching before any physical activity is a necessity for athletes to perform at a high level.