Running for just five to 10 minutes a few times a week could add three years to your life, according to research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology recently. They were reporting on a 15 year study of 55,000 people aged 18 to 100. The only exercise mentioned was jogging.
However, not everybody likes jogging. Even when I was skinny as a fork it didn’t suit me, and it doesn’t suit thousands and thousands of people, who prefer walking.
But there’s hope! Apparently any exercise will do. The aim is to get your heart rate up on a regular basis, said Oliver Monfredit, of the University of Manchester. For some time now research coming through has shown the benefits of regular walks.
And yesterday I found a way of increasing heart rate during a brisk walk. Youwill need a treadmill, but if you watch an exciting sport that you really like at the same time, your heart rate soars. Yesterday it was the Womens’ Squash Championship on screen.
Wouldn’t it be interesting to know how many people really do want to live as long as possible. Most of those I know are more interested in living as well as possible, while they’re here. It probably depends on what you think happens once you’ve left here, as everyone is destined to do at some point.
The Bible promises that our ‘hereafter’ is better than we could ever imagine. The apostle Paul, writing to the believers in Corinth, said, ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 NKJV.
Very often a resident in one of our care homes will say that they are ready to go to their eternal Home, any time! Most have had good, long lives, but are now frailer. Sometimes, a manager told me once, they have to be persuaded that God hasn’t forgotten about them, that there is a purpose in them being here, even if they can’t see it themselves. The tug of Glory is strong when your eyes are on Jesus!
