Recreation and Health
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, exercise is beneficial for health when activity is moderate in intensity for 30 minutes, 5 days per week, OR when activity is strenuous in intensity for 30 minutes, 3 days per week.
For many people, exercise means getting in the car and going to the gym. The whole trip may take 90 minutes and much of that time will be spent driving there, waiting for the treadmill or other equipment, cleaning up afterward, and then driving home. For busy people, this time spent alone and away from family seems like a very inefficient way to exercise. While not everyone can afford a gym membership, the fact that $400 million dollars per year is spent in unused gym memberships may also mean that it’s not the best way to get healthy over the long haul!
Getting healthy through recreation can offer some very important benefits. First, the whole family can be together. We know that when families just sit down together for family meals, there are important improvements in physical and mental health. When families get active together through recreation, children see their parents and grandparents doing something that they are more likely to want to do themselves… and families spend more time together!
Recreation often involves moderate intensity exercise. Is more strenuous activity better? Research clearly shows that less intense daily exercise provides the most health benefits. Moderate exercise confers the most benefit to the immune system, while repeated bouts of strenuous exercise may actually decrease immunity. An increase in the time spent in moderate activity and not an increase in intensity clearly lowers our risk of certain types of cancer. People who participate in recreational activity and the increase in social connectedness also enjoy better mental health: less anxiety and depression, and a reduction in the symptoms of ailments such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Increasing activity through recreation is a safe way to introduce important physical and mental health benefits into the lives of families and entire communities! RecreationRx.org is dedicated to improving community health by increasing access to and use of safe and structured recreation.