“Your body is a reflection of your lifestyle.”
Outwardly, this is obvious to us. Bodybuilders are easily recognized, as are yogis and other athletes. Even when we observe those who meticulously groom themselves, or those who decline to subscribe to grooming standards, there is a “lifestyle” and values associated with the behavior. We are creatures of habit, as they say, and what we choose on a daily basis affects our long-term outcomes, even if the effects aren’t as outwardly apparent.
Continual chiropractic adjustments have already been shown many times to increase health due to the ability to increase positive neuroplasticity [1]. “In the past ten years, researchers have objectively demonstrated that spinal adjustments can change aspects of nervous system function including muscle reflexes, reaction time, and the speed at which the brain processes information.” Chiropractic Lifestyle Care ensures your body’s potential to experience your longevity with a nerve system that is continually optimized.
Across all health platforms, research has continually supported the importance of lifestyles and habits that foster health, instead of those that foster inactivity, disease, and negative neuroplasticity—loss of brain function [2, 3]. When it comes to exercise, research published in the journal Frontier in Aging Neuroscience revealed that endurance runners who skipped workouts for 10 days had reductions in blood flow to their brain [4]. Just like we cannot expect to eat healthy for one week and expect those effects to last a lifetime, we cannot expect to receive chiropractic care for a few visits or a couple of weeks and expect our nervous system to be optimized for the rest of our lives, especially in the high-stress world we live in today.
The 100 Year Lifestyle is about developing and nurturing habits that will ensure your health through your 100th birthday and beyond. Abandoning the consistent care of your spine and nervous system as a part of your lifestyle can result in a return to what has become known as the “standard” aging process. The brain and nerve system is like the rest of your body: when you don’t use it consistently, it assumes you have no more need for these abilities. Therefore, the body uses energy elsewhere, allowing the ill-used brain to atrophy and shrink. Due to this physiological adaptation, the normal aging adult experiences a decline in information processing speed in the brain, affecting all nervous system processes, including, but not limited to, motor function, joint function, memory, cognitive quickness, and slowed autonomic responses to homeostatic changes [3].
Instead of allowing the nervous system to stagnate and lose speed and function, utilize chiropractic Lifestyle Care to keep your spine and nervous system well adjusted. You will enjoy the benefits of the care today and you will appreciate them even more as you age.
Works Cited:
1. Murphy, Dr. Bernadette. Chiropractic and Neural Plasticity. University of Auckland 2003. https://spinalresearch.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Factsheet-LG2003-6.pdf
2. Schuster, Tonya et al. Wellness Lifestyles I: A Theoretical Framework Linking Wellness, Health Lifestyles, and Complementary and Alternative Medicine. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 2004. Vol. 10, No. 2; pg 349-356.
3. Vance, David E. et al. Neuropsychology and Cognitive Health in Healthy Older Adults. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services 2012. Vol. 50, No. 6; pg 30-37.
4. Alfonso, Alfini J. et al. Hippocampal and Cerebral Blood Flow after Exercise Cessation in Master Athletes. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience 2016. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2016.00184