I’m not sure about you but as a kid I had scheduled check ups with my dentist that were roughly 9 months apart. At each and every appointment, I was told how to brush, when to brush, and that I should really start flossing more. In between those appointments, I had ample time to build up daily flossing habits but each time that one week reminder came in, I had one week of blood and pain.
If you share the same story as I have, you’ll know that I obviously didn’t pass the “do you floss?” test when they poked my gums and saw me squirm. In the same way, I ask patients what their daily or weekly activities entail. I ask if they do any scheduled walking, running, yoga, sports, or gym time. Some patients, like dentists, have patients that don’t have to lie through their teeth *pun intended* and some give fibs of their exercise-packed desk jobs.
Oral hygiene and movement have more in common than you may think. The evidence shows that the daily act of getting up and having intentional active times has such a large effect on the entire body. Not only the effect on the mechanical parts of the body, such as the muscles and bones, but an effect on the brain as well.
Diehl & Choi did a study on the effects that regular exercise has on health, mental health, disease prevention, and productivity. They found that completing regular exercise routines “reduces the incidence of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, cancers, and cardiovascular disease” (1). It also shows positive benefits for cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, depression, and reduces your all-cause mortality rates for certain types of cancers and diseases. The Canadian physical activity guidelines for people between the ages of 18-64 give three tips (2) that make exercise simple and easy to follow:
Be active at least 2.5 hours a week (150 minutes) to achieve health benefits.
Focus on moderate to vigorous aerobic activity throughout each week, broken into sessions of 10 minutes or more.
Get stronger by adding activities that target your muscles and bones at least two days per week
So get out there and try to get your minutes! Shake up the sitting, stretch out the body, load up the muscles, and break a sweat. A little bit everyday makes a huge impact down the road.
Happy moving, happy health,
Dr. Cole Maranger DC
Diehl, J & Choi, H., 2008. Exercise: the Data on its Role in Health, Mental Health, Disease Prevention, and Productivity. Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice. Volume 35, Issue 4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pop.2008.07.014
CSEP, 2018. 24 hour movement guidelines. Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults aged 18-64 years: An Integration of Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour, and Sleep. https://csepguidelines.ca/guidelines/adults-18-64/
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