To Exercise or Not to Exercise

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It seems that many of our residents are taken to their rooms after lunch so they can take a nap. Do they really need that nap? The National Institute on Aging (NIA) says that adults over 70 only need about 7-9 hours of sleep each night. It has been said that they need that nap because they don’t sleep good at night. Sunday afternoon naps are wonderful . . . until you go to bed Sunday night and are awake all night because you cannot sleep.

Did you know that Exercising throughout the day actually helps you sleep better at night? This is not just for those under the age of 70 but also for those over the age of 70. Inactivity does more to deteriorate our health than anything else we do. Let’s compare our bodies to a vehicle. If you leave a vehicle sitting too long without running it or moving it, the parts on the vehicle begin to break down. The rubber on the tires begins to dry out and crack, which is known as dry rot. The oil settles down in the engine and starts to thicken and it can gum up the engine and the gas will also go bad sitting in the gas tank. Our bodies are no different, if we sit and don’t move much our muscles start to shrink, our blood doesn’t do as good at transmitting oxygen to our organs which causes someone to feel winded when they stand up or try and walk around. This can also cause someone to get dizzy and then fall!

Years ago, after surgery, you had to stay in bed a week before receiving therapy. Now when you have a hip replaced, back surgery or major surgery, they want you up moving the same day, unless you have complications. They even have you do therapy that first day and then send you home. The sooner and more you move the faster you will recover. This begs the question then, do our residents really need a nap every day?

Staying active has so many great benefits for all ages. It can help improve your strength, gives you more energy and reduces fatigue, improves balance and lowers risks of falls, helps you sleep better, reduces stress and anxiety, controls blood pressure, increases your mood and decreases depression and can help manage and/or prevent some diseases such as arthritis, heart disease, stroke, diabetes type 2, osteoporosis, and eight types of Cancer to include breast and colon. This list describes 80 percent of our aging population.

The CDC says that those over 65 years of age need about 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity. They also say that you need about 3 days of balance activities and 2 days of strength exercise. Remember everyone is at a different functioning level. This means those 75 minutes of vigorous exercise will look different for each of our residents. We should always encourage our residents to do what they can and if they cannot do everything it is ok.

There are four types of exercise: Endurance, Strength, balance, and flexibility.

Endurance can be described as aerobics or increasing your breathing and heart rate. This type of exercise can improve the health of your heart, lungs, and circulatory system. It may also help prevent or improve issues with Diabetes, Heart Disease, and colon and breast cancer. Some examples would be brisk walking, yard work such as raking, mowing or applying weed -n- feed, dancing, swimming, biking, climbing, playing tennis or basketball. These activities can be either moderate or vigorous intensity. A quick test to see if the exercise is endurance, is your breathing. If you are breathing hard but can still have a conversation easily it is moderate intensity. If you only say a few words before you must take a breath it is vigorous intensity.

Strength can be described as working the muscles that help keep your balance intact to help prevent falls. Some examples would be lifting weights, working with resistance bands, climbing stairs, hill walking, cycling, dancing, push-ups, sit-ups, and squats. This is type of exercise uses movement that is repetitive.

Balance exercises are those type of exercises that help you maintain your posture and balance to help prevent falls. This helps keep you on your feet and hopefully out of a wheelchair as your main mode of ambulation. Some examples would be Tai Chi, standing on one foot, heel to toe walking, walking with one foot directly in front of another and standing from a seated position repeatedly.

Stretching is just what it says. You normally want to do this after you are done working your muscles and they are warmed up. Stretching should be done after every exercise. Be careful not to stretch so far that it hurts. Oh, and do not forget to breathe when stretching. If you watch your residents or even yourself while stretching, you will realize that too often we hold our breath.

You are probably thinking, I can’t do this with my residents, they cannot move like that. Just remember that if you are not used to moving, any little bit of moving is going to get your heart going. This is why when you start you need to watch your residents and let them know they can relax if they need to. It also does not mean you have to sit down for 30 minutes and work out. You can weave exercise into your daily activities. Take a lot again at the examples of the different types of exercise. These exercises can be adapted for our residents in wheelchairs.

You can have a regular schedule for exercise every day, but you need to make it fun. Instead of putting on a video, get a 30-minute list of music that your residents like and put some motions together for each song. You can even collaborate with hour therapy department and have them help you put together different types of movements. Make it fun and then it won’t be so hard to do. You will also want to come up with a title for the exercise activity, so it doesn’t just say Exercise class. Arts-n-crafts could have exercise included depending on what you are doing. Holding on to objects with your hands can be strength training. Anyone who has ever had to cut multiple objects out knows how sore your hands/fingers can get. Music programs can get your feet moving and your hands clapping. Baking and cooking also use a lot of strengthening. Be looking for ways to add movement into your daily activities. The more you move the better you feel, and the better your physical and mental health will be.

The more you can get your residents to move each day, the less medication they will take for pain, depression, and agitation. I worked in one facility where we started an exercise program on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Tuesdays and Thursdays were other types of activities that incorporated exercise. One lady came into our facility in a wheelchair. She came to the exercise program and at first barely moved. Then she started suggesting songs to use. Then she started moving more. The staff were walking her short distances outside of activities and within a few months she was up walking with a walker and within a year she was walking on her own with the walker. We made moving fun and it allowed her to regain some independence. What made the difference? Exercise was fun and residents started seeing the difference it was making in their daily lives. Truly exercise is so much better than taking a nap in the afternoon.