What do you do in the morning, right after you wake up? While some people go straight to the shower, others will rather have breakfast or check their social networks. And still others (who are probably fewer in number…) force themselves to do a few flexibility exercises to start the day off right.
Less flexibility = shorter life expectancy?
What if the athletes were right? This is at least what a new study suggests, published this summer in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in SportsThe scientists gathered more than 3,000 volunteers, men and women aged 46 to 65.
At the beginning of their work, the researchers assessed flexibility of participants using a test called “Flexindex” – this one is designed to evaluate the fluidity of 20 movements and the mobility of 7 joints of the body. First surprise: this score, established on a scale of 0 to 80, was (on average) 35% higher in women than in men.
The researchers then contacted the volunteers again 13 years later. They made a second surprising discovery: men who had an abnormally low “Flexindex” score had a risk of early mortality almost twice as high as those who had a high “Flexindex”. And in women, the risk was even almost 5 times higher!
Yoga first thing in the morning, when you wake up, why not!
“Flexibility (especially joint) may be linked to life expectancy” conclude the researchers, who nevertheless express some reservations regarding the methodology of the study – for example, it did not take into account the diet or physical activity of the participants.
However, for scientists, Regularly practicing flexibility exercises could be a good way to extend your life expectancy.. So why not incorporate a few yoga postures into your morning routine? Try it…
Source : Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports
Source: www.topsante.com
