National Minority Health Month 2020: Active and Healthy

By Mountain-Pacific Quality Health

April 17, 2020

It’s National Minority Health Month. This national effort brings awareness to the importance of physical, mental and emotional wellness, no matter your race, gender, age or where you live. Amid COVID-19 shelter-in-place and stay-at-home orders, focusing on good health for all of us is exactly what we need right now.

Across the country, we are saving lives by staying at home as much as possible. However, with limited movement and closed workout facilities, staying active might feel a bit more challenging than usual. And yet, it also might be the most important thing you can do for yourself. Why? We all know regular exercise is important to our physical health, but did you know it can help you feel emotionally and mentally better, too?

Exercise and Your Mental Health

When feeling added stress, increased anxiety or even depression, going for a jog may be the last thing you want to do. But research proves exercise not only chases off a bad mood and relieves stress, it also can help improve a variety of mental issues or conditions.

How? Being physically active increases certain “happy” chemicals in your brain (e.g., endorphins, serotonin, dopamine). It also improves energy levels, mental clarity, creativity, learning and memory. Exercise helps you relax more completely when you’re at rest, which means you get better sleep, another key component to good mental (and physical) health.

Anything Is Better than Nothing

Adults should try to get at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise (anything that gets your heart to beat faster) and do muscle-strengthening activities at least twice a week.

That might seem easier said than done, especially right now. But one of the benefits of exercise is you can do it just about anywhere. Short bursts of activity add up throughout the week, and anything that gets you moving helps. So even if you relied on a gym membership to stay active before COVID-19, there are ways you can exercise while sticking near home. What?

Go for a walk – Walking at a moderate pace for 20 to 30 minutes five or six days per week gets you fresh air and good exercise.
Clean up around the house – Rake up leaves, vacuum, wash the car, mow the lawn, garden or landscape.
Have fun with the family – Play catch or tag, ride bikes, dance in the living room, do a yoga video, kick a ball around the yard, pillow fight, turn a family walk into a scavenger hunt. Check out more tips for staying active as a family while indoors.
Find an active video game – Many video games get you moving. Depending on what kind of gaming console you have, go online and search for “active video games.”
Turn commercial breaks into activity breaks – If you’re doing more binge-watching these days, do yourself a favor and get moving during the commercials. Have a jumping jack or sit-up contest, run to every room in your home and back to the couch before your show starts again, do 10 push-ups every time a new commercial starts or just get up and run in place.

Getting Started Even When You Don’t Feel Like It

Finding motivation to exercise can be tough in the best of times. If you need some help to get moving, maybe one or two of these tips will help.

Throw “go big or go home” out the window. Again, anything is better than nothing. Set small, doable goals and build on them.
Find a friend or family member you can text or call and set goals together.
Do what you like. Find what you enjoy and stick with it.
Or try new things. If you’re someone who needs variety, find different ways to keep moving and keep it fun.
Make a schedule. Set aside time to exercise and think of it as “you” time.
Focus on your “why.” Do you want to exercise to feel better? To relieve stress? To be a role model for your kids?

To learn more about the benefits of exercise, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity or current fitness level, check out this updated guide to physical activity. Ready to get moving? Use this tool to build your personalized plan.