Physical Activity

Did you know that research shows that the hippocampus, a brain area involved in mood, memory, and learning, increases in size with 30 minutes of walking each day and decreases in size with low activity levels? Amazing.

Physical activity lowers the risk of diabetes, breast and bowel cancer, cardiovascular disease, and cognitive impairment. It also reduces the risk of low mood and anxiety.

However, in today’s world, we are significantly less physically active than we were 20 or 30 years ago.

QUOTE: Currently around 45% of women and 35% of men do not meet the recommended physical activity targets set out by the Government.

Physical activity also helps to reduces stress, helps maintain a healthy weight, lowers blood pressure, and retains muscle strength. It can reduce the risk of frailty and falls as we age and improves sleep patterns. Exercise really is good for us.

Getting active

There are four main components that make up physical activity:​

• Aerobic endurance (Cardio): 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity is recommended per week. This can be anything that gets your heart rate up including jogging, brisk walking and swimming. Use the talk test: if you can chat but can’t sing, you’re at the right intensity
• Strength training: crucial for everyone, and doesn’t have to involve the gym; there are lots of free strength training programmes and videos online
• Flexibility: incorporate dynamic or static stretching regularly – you can do this at home; again lots of free resources are available on line, or think about yoga or tai chi
• Balance: practice activities that challenge your balance in your day-to-day life, such as standing on one leg to put on a sock

​Adding more physical activity to your life doesn’t have to be hard – the easiest way to stick to a new activity is by setting a SMART goal.

SMART stands for:

• Specific – be specific; instead of saying “I’m going to run more this year,” say “I’m going to run on Monday evenings after work with my friend”
• Measurable – measure your progress, for example writing it on a diary/planner
• Achievable – make your goal realistic for your current circumstances; don’t enter a marathon if you’ve started running, try a 5k first
• Relevant – does the activity you’re doing fit in with your goal?
• Time-bound – give yourself a target or deadline eg I’m going to run each week for a month to begin with

​Incorporating more physical activity into your life doesn’t have to involve the gym or sports groups. Gardening, hill walking, wild swimming, walking, cycling even discos and dancing all count.

It takes around 30 days to form a habit and if you’re starting from scratch having done very little it might feel a bit difficult to begin with but it will get easier and easier the more you try it.​

Find an activity you love and get active!

Further resources and information

• Couch to 5k – simple, free NHS running plan for complete beginners
• Fife Walking – walking routes in Fife and beyond
• Fife Coastal Path – explore Fife’s Coastal Path
• Park Run – free, regular community walks/runs near you
• Visit Scotland – information on walking, cycling, golf and hillwalking across Scotland
• Fife Sports and Leisure Trust – swimming, sports and exercise class opportunities across Fife
• Moving Medicine – evidence-based, condition specific physical activity information for healthcare professionals to support children, young people and adults
• Yoga with Adrienne – free yoga videos for all levels, from beginner to advanced