我一直与锻炼有爱恨交加的关系。直到我开始研究它的真正强大。
When I was about 6 years old, my father would take me on morning runs on the side of a busy road in my hometown of L’Aquila, Italy. He thought that I shared my grandmother’s genetics and my grandfather’s destiny for cardiovascular disease.
父亲认为，如果我开始运动和受控饮食足够早，我将有一个打架的机会来抵消我的遗传命运。这就是我与锻炼的爱与仇恨关系的开始，以及我如何使人们感到高兴。
I spent most of my adult life chasing perfectionism, trying to be the best at things, and aiming to please any and every man that crossed my path. My perceived self-worth has always been intertwined with my physical appearance and strength.
This endless chase of perfectionism led me down many dark roads.
At 16, I was on the verge of an eating disorder. During young adulthood, I had multiple sport injuries. I was plagued by the unrelenting feeling of not being enough. And then I hit rock bottom.
While I was writing my PhD dissertation, I spent countless hours sitting and stressing about how good or bad my work was.
At the same time, I was balancing graduate school with being a new mom, and my time for training was limited.
我以某种方式找到了时间在周末逃到山上的滑雪板，并生活在经典的周末战士生活中。
And then the pain started. A sharp, terrible pain in my back that would cause my body to tilt on its side.
The first time it got bad, I was out of commission for about 2 months with what felt like never-ending physiotherapy sessions.
当疼痛得到改善时，我立即恢复了寻求冒险的追求，在接下来的几年中，我在救济和痛苦之间来回走动。随着时间的流逝，疼痛变得更加严重，更频繁。
I played this push-pull game with pain until the last time — the time when I was stuck, tilted sideways, for about 3 months. The physiotherapy sessions would not work anymore, nor the acupuncture, chiropractor, massage, or pain medication.
我最终躺在地板上呆了数周无法走路。几次急诊室访问和毫克抗炎，肌肉放松剂和阿片类药物后，我终于收到了紧急L4-L5microdiscectomy。
I was told to not exercise for 3 months after surgery. And this time I listened. I let my body relax, I did not check the scale or mirror too often, and I battled any feelings of guilt that would arise.
I let myself heal fully and completely for the first time ever. Only at this point did my relationship with exercise change. I started to think of exercise as a medicine, not as a means to an unattainable goal.
具有讽刺意味effects of aerobic exercise。我们研究了运动，以减慢和防止痴呆症的发作。
I’m a researcher for a living. My background is in cognitive neuroscience, or more simply, the science that studies how the brain works. My main research interest lies in the relationship between exercise, sleep, and cognition.
在我的日常工作,我探索机制而h exercise reduces blood pressure, increases blood flow and nutrients to the brain, improves sleep quality, and in turn, improves the ability of the brain to multitask, plan, and solve problems.
我对大脑运动研究team, examines the effects of aerobic exercise on healthy brain aging in overall healthy, but low-active, middle-aged and older adults (1).
我们发现了什么？有氧运动的六个月，从步行开始，并增加了慢跑的强度，每周3次，持续20-40分钟，导致认知和调节流向大脑的认知和调节（
结果类似于5岁的个体中看到的结果。我们表明运动可以扭转衰老的自然作用。
但是，让我着迷的是，他们六个月进行的运动类型并不是我一生所做的孤独运动类型。
Instead, study participants were meeting similarly minded people three times a week to move. They were keeping each other accountable in a friendly, nonjudgmental environment.
在计划结束后与参与者交谈时，他们都一致同意，参加运动研究的大脑已经改变了整个生活。
Undoubtedly, their fitness had improved, and they were better at performing activities of daily living, such as household chores and gardening. But what really made the difference was一起锻炼— and the support they received from researchers, trainers, and fellow participants.
The individuals that participated in the original study are currently being assessed in a 5-year follow-up study.
Although we are just starting the analyses, the initial data trends are already evident: The people who continued to exercise independently after the end of the intervention are also the ones that kept in touch with the friends made during the intervention.
社交互动与体育锻炼的维持之间的联系变得越来越明显，在Covid-19大流行期间。不仅体育馆关闭，人们被迫探索虚拟的活跃方式，而且目前禁止社交聚会。
This is a double-edged sword, especially for older adults. A series of recent studies have, in fact, pointed out how isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with reduced overall physical activity and worsening of mental health conditions in older adults (3).
当我开始为健康而不是摆脱义务时，我的痛苦减轻了。而且，在研究了所有定期运动的生活质量改善的方式之后，我现在感谢以不同的方式进行锻炼。
The benefits I’ve seen firsthand are powerful:
- Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise training improves blood flow to the brain and cognition, which for older adults, translates to an improved ability to do daily activities (1).
- Aerobic exercise improves individuals’ subjective perception of sleep quality, sleep duration, time to fall asleep, and overall efficiency (4).
- After 6 months of aerobic exercise, individuals show decreased氧化应激at the cellular level, and increased antioxidant markers production (5).
- Individuals who participated in the exercise intervention had a better cortisol awakening response, indicating the body’s improved ability to regulate the stress hormone cortisol (6).
- Anecdotally, the most important factors in maintaining physical activity were accountability from peers and social interactions.
Through life experiences, pain, and research, my views and relationship with exercise have evolved. I now consider exercise my medicine, the solution to a stressful day, my primary source of energy and motivation.
不要误会我的意思，我仍然有几天我不想锻炼的日子，而且我仍在学习管理feelings of guilt发生这种情况时会发生这种情况。我仍在学习平衡，并在要求休息时倾听我的身体。按摩枪是我大多数时候最好的朋友！
但最重要的是，我正在学习自我同情和自爱，这仍然是一项正在进行的工作！
Veronica Guadagni博士在意大利L'Aquila大学完成了神经科学的学士学位和硕士学位，并在加拿大艾伯塔省卡尔加里大学获得了大脑和认知科学博士学位。她的研究兴趣是睡眠和睡眠障碍，大脑健康和认知。最近，她一直在研究有氧运动对脑部健康的影响，特别关注健康的脑老化。在业余时间，她热衷于在雄伟的加拿大洛矶山脉和室内锻炼（家庭锻炼）中锻炼户外运动（滑雪，攀岩，山地自行车，远足）。她也是一个7岁女儿的妈妈，喜欢豚鼠。
