Importance of Rest and Exercise to Health

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23091, 2 November 1949, Page 4

Importance of Rest and Exercise to Health

(Health Department.) For a balanced health programme you need both exorcise and rest. The latter is easy enough, provided it has a proper part in your day’s life. And when you rest, relax completely. But exercise needs a little more thought, study and practice. Although it has no definite effect on organic disease, there is no getting away from it that exercise has a very definite effect on body processes, especially the heart rate and blood pressure. It is important to choose some exercise that you like. This not only aids you to keep it up regularly, but adds psychological benefit to the physical improvement. Outdoor exercise is much better than an indoor routine, unless >ou play something like table tennis or badminton with plenty of ventilation in the room. In fact, exercise in the open air has been described as a life-giving necessity. It should be so planned as to strengthen by use organs that have become weakened. Rest must be balanced with exercise for the maximum benefits to be derived. The average adult needs about eight hours’ sleep a day. Relaxation during waking hours, muscular and mental relaxation, helps very considerably, too. Rest periods enable the rebuilding necessary after muscular fatigue also. Individuals vary considerably in their rest and sleep requirements. If the amount of exercise taken is adequate, you will not need to he told what your quota of rest and sleep should be; nature will look alter that.