Bingo is good for you!

As someone still suffering with bruised ribs from my fall in last weekends Leeds 10k I am wondering if I should be rethinking my leisure time pursuits. Some new research from Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago claims that playing bingo and having an active social life in old age can help stave off disability and even death.By up to two thirds.

Even just chatting regularly with friends can slow down the rate of decline in motor function which comes as people grow older, the study found. Maybe I should just mix in with the crowds in future and chat! Actually I am planning to run the first Jane Tomlinson 10k in York on August 2 - assuming I can breathe again by then.....

Regular running is good for you

More research from the Stanford University School of Medicine that has tracked 500 older runners for more than 20 years. Elderly runners have fewer disabilities, a longer span of active life and are half as likely as aging nonrunners to die early deaths, the research found. I am a regular runner of course but the study fails to point out that you also get more injuries! Said with feeling after falling over 100 yards before the end of the Jane Tomlinson 10k at the weekend. Most embarrassing as 11,000 runners and about a thousand people and TV cameras at the finish line! That is me minus glasses (shattered), blood gushing over the steps and bruised ribs. I did finally finish before the chicken and 2 Gorillas..

Regular running slows the effects of ageing...

..... say researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine in California. A study that has tracked 500 older runners for more than 20 years shows they have fewer disabilities and longer active lifespans than non-runners.

(The photo by the way is yours truly running the 10k Abbey Dash in Leeds last year - in yellow. My fellow runner, John, is a doctor. I'm not daft!)

The study's senior author, James Fries, an emeritus professor of medicine, says the research clearly shows the benefits of staying fit.

"If you had to pick one thing to make people healthier as they age, it would be aerobic exercise," Fries says.While both runners and non-runners did become disabled with age, the active group remained healthier longer.

"Runners' initial disability was 16 years later than non-runners."

Running has also kept death at bay. It slowed cardiovascular deaths and has been associated with fewer early deaths from cancer, neurological disease and infections. Surprisingly, the injuries expected with ageing runners haven't emerged. It was not associated with higher rates of osteoarthritis and runners needed no more knee replacements than non-runners.

Where you run, walk, or cycle has an effect on your mental alertness. Spending an hour interacting with nature, like being in a park, can help improve memory and attention by 20%, according to a University of Michigan psychology study.

"Interacting with nature can have similar effects as meditating," researcher Marc Berman says. So - you really don't have to spend a fortune on gym membership and breathing fresh air in a natural setting is a definite plus to staring at a treadmill screen! But then I am biased!