Power of Consistency

Spring has sprung. Winter, or whatever that last season was, is over. Like clockwork. Routine. While some of the finer details may change, routine has great value in our lives. Winter did not look or feel like it historically does, but it remained on schedule. Routine breeds consistency, and consistency with our healthy-living tasks is vital. Sleep schedules, exercise routines, self-care activities done consistently generate positive results.

Research from the exercise world has proven beyond a doubt the positive value exercise has on pain management, health, and longevity. Research tends to show that intensity matters less than consistency. I highly recommend being more consistent with easier exercise, rather than sporadic or less consistent with intense exercise. In fact, when exercise is too intense, it can take longer to recover, delaying your next exercise session, disrupting the routine.  And, furthermore, lots of research demonstrates the health and longevity value of low intensity endurance exercising (e.g.. Long walks, jogging, cycling). Getting your heart rate into your 60 – 75% of your maximum heart rate (i.e. Zones 1 & 2) for easier, longer duration endurance has tremendous cardiovascular and metabolic value. Stay consistent with resistance training, stretching, and mobility. You don’t have to leave a pool of sweat every time you work out. Just get moving! Consistently.

With the warmer weather approaching, getting outside and being active becomes easier.

Try to be consistent with your sleep schedule. Sleep quality and quantity is an important health variable.

And take care of your physical health. Be consistent with the self-care strategies that help you recover and feel your best. That includes being consistent with your chiropractic care. Don’t wait till pain returns or you’re feeling your worst. Just be consistent!

Last year I read Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity, by Dr. Peter Attia. I highly recommend this book. My patients and I have been discussing this book for several months, and some have already taken my advice and read it themselves. It essentially outlines a science-based approach to living healthier. Spoiler Alert: Consistent exercise and sleep are at the top of the list!

I’d like to share one of Dr. Attia’s opinions from the book (page 263-4), due to its relevancy to my role as your chiropractor:

“A typical seventy-year-old will do less than half as much “moderate to vigorous” physical activity as she did at age forty – and after age seventy the decline accelerates. The fit people in their seventies and eighties are the exception, not the rule.

It is tempting to attribute this to aging itself, the aches and pains that accumulate in middle age and beyond, not to mention the steady loss of aerobic capacity and strength. Other factors such as weight gain and poor sleep can also leave one feeling wiped out. But I think the missing X factor that explains why so many people just stop moving is something else: injury. That is, older people tend to exercise less, or not at all, because they simply can’t. They have hurt themselves in some way, at some point in their lives, and they just never got back on the horse. So they continued to decline.”

Don’t let injuries fester. Do everything you can to maintain your joint and muscle health. That might mean visiting me more often than you think you have time for, but, as Dr. Attia suggests, the long-term implications of being hurt can be dramatic.