Weekly musings, 11/25/17: designed to move

I watched a TED talk recently by a neuroscientist who convincingly argued that we evolved not to think logically or critically reason, but to control movement.* In fact, researchers believe the endocrinological response to exercise that makes us feel good was an evolutionary reward for us to keep moving.**

We are physiologically primed for exercise, specifically aerobic exercise. It makes everything work a little bit better, it clears our head, and it’s often linked to things like increased creativity. Yet, people put it on the back burner because it takes too long, or it doesn’t provide a magical solution for weight loss. 

The good news is it doesn’t take a ton of time for walking (or some other form of aerobic activity), to be impactful. Just twenty minutes of walking at a brisk pace most days of the week will make you feel better. And when you feel better and have more energy, you begin to do a little bit more. If you are feeling really adventurous, walk on terrain that isn’t level or even to stimulate the mechanoreceptors in your feet and ankles that are there to react to the ground. Use the body you have in the way it was designed to be used just by moving a little bit more. Your health and well being will thank you.

*https://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_wolpert_the_real_reason_for_brains
**http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2154828/Humans-evolved-runners-high-moving-explains-lazy-modern-lifestyles-bad-us.html