This document discusses the benefits of physical activity and exercise for physical and mental health. It provides evidence that exercise improves cognitive functions like learning, memory and attention. It also reduces symptoms of conditions like anxiety, depression and addiction by impacting neurotransmitters. Regular exercise is recommended for prevention and management of chronic diseases. Tips are provided on developing a routine and overcoming excuses to increase physical activity levels. Local places for walking and running in Puerto Rico are also mentioned.

1. Vivir en movimiento como
modelo para el bienestar y la
salud personal
Mario A. Núñez Molina
Departamento de Psicología
Si quieres que algo se muera
Déjalo quieto (Jorge Drexler)

2. Los problemas
del
sedentarismo
y la
inactividad
física

3. Puerto Rico
cuenta con un
porcentaje de
32.2% de
jóvenes “que
no hacen
actividad física
a diario”

4. El abandono se
mueve solo.
(Mijo de la
Palma)
• La inactividad física mata a más
personas que el fumar, la
diabetes y la obesidad
combinada.

6. Beneficios de la
Actividad Física
(Correr/Caminar)

7. Ventajas de
la actividad
física
Evidencia
No hay efectos secundarios
Accesibilidad
Costo mínimo
Beneficios físicos y
psicológicos

8. Longevidad

10. Facultades
cognitivas

11. Memoria

12. Aprendizaje

13. BDNF
• Now you know how exercise improves learning
on three levels: first, it optimizes your mind-set
to improve alertness, attention, and
motivation; second, it prepares and
encourages nerve cells to bind to one another,
which is the cellular basis for logging in new
information; and third, it spurs the
development of new nerve cells from stem
cells in the hippocampus.
• John J. Ratey; Eric Hagerman. Spark (Kindle Locations 760-763).
Little, Brown and Company. Kindle Edition.

14. Naperville

15. Cataratas y
ejercicio

16. Ansiedad

17. Ejercicio

18. Tratatamiento
y Prevención

19. Ejercicio y anti-
depresivos
• According to Panteleimon Ekkekakis,
PhD, a researcher and professor of
exercise psychology at Iowa State
University, regular running produces the
same two changes that are thought to
be responsible for the effectiveness of
modern antidepressants: increased
levels of the neurotransmitters
serotonin and norepinephrine, and
neurogenesis—the creation of new
brain cells.

20. Blumenthal

21. Parkinson

22. Ejercicio y
cerebro
• 1,603 studies showed that exercise
delivered marked improvements for
people suffering all the cognitive
impairments examined, from minor
memory loss to full-on Alzheimer’s.
Further, the studies that examined
middle-aged people who exercised
regularly found a substantial
preventive effect of all forms of
impairment later in life. Exercise helps
the afflicted but also prevents the
affliction. Cognitive impairment is not
so much a consequence of aging as it is
a consequence of our sedentary lives.

23. Creatividad

24. Adicción

25. Substance abuse

26. Tratamiento
para la adicción
• In 2011, researchers at Vanderbilt University in
Nashville set a dozen heavy-using pot smokers on
treadmills and, over two weeks, had them run ten 30-
minute sessions at 60 to 70 percent of their maximum
heart rate. The result? A more than 50-percent decrease
in sparking up. In London, in 2004, researchers showed
that even 10 minutes of moderate exercise dulled the
craving for a drink among recently detoxed alcoholics. A
2013 study out of the University of Colorado at Boulder
even showed a possible reversal of cognitive brain
damage in recovering alcoholics who exercised
aerobically.

27. Ejercicio y
adicción a
drogas

28. El ejercicio
• “Exercise acts like a drug on the brain
chemicals,” she says. “But it’s a good
type of drug that enhances systems
that are in deficit. It re-regulates brain
functions and can prevent relapse.”
Wendy Lynch

29. Ayuda a
dormir
mejor

30. Migrañas

31. Demencia

32. Hearing

33. Cravings

34. Actividad física
y cáncer
• Reduce efectos secundarios y efectos a largo plazo
• Reduce mortalidad y recurrencia
• Breast and prostate cancer patients can reduce
their risk of dying from the disease by 30–40%
if they do recommended levels of activity,
compared to those doing less than one hour a
week
• Bowel cancer patients who do around six hours
of moderate intensity physical activity a week
could help reduce their risk of dying from the
disease by around 50%, compared to those
doing less than an hour
• There is emerging evidence that it can also
reduce the risk of the disease coming back for
breast and bowel cancer

35. Sexualidad y Ejercicio

36. Neuroquímica
del ejercicio

37. Prozac y Ritalin
• “What happens immediately when you begin
to run is you get a boost in dopamine,
noradrenaline, and serotonin, just as if you
were taking a little bit of Prozac and a little bit
of Ritalin,” (John Ratey, Harvard Medical
School)

38. Norepinefrina
• Memory and learning
• Optimal levels stimulate a sense of
wellbeing or even create a euphoric
effect in stressful situations. –
Improved Attention, Arousal, Energy,
Drive and Vigilance – Improved
Emotions and Mood – Sleep and
Dreaming – Improved Self- Esteem –
Improved Perception – Improved
Cellular Learning

39. Endorfinas
• Endorphins are the bodies morphine
and are linked to: – Mood Regulation –
Self Esteem – Improves pain threshold-
valuable in the body – Reward,
motivation, satisfaction hormone

40. Beneficios:
Irisin
• Cada vez que nos ejercitamos nuestro
cuerpo produce la hormona “irisin”. La
misma tiene el poder de mantener un
peso saludable, mejorar nuestro cognición
y disminuir el proceso de envejecimiento.
• Spiegelman and colleagues believe that
irisin is a highly promising candidate for
development as a novel treatment for
diabetes, obesity and perhaps other
disorders, including cancer.
• Estimula la neurogenesis: crecimiento de
nuevas neuronas

41. Actividad física como
mejor intervención para
mejorar su salud física y
mental: De la teoría a la
practica (Con la
colaboración de Rosita
L. Rivera)
• “we know of no single
intervention with greater promise
than physical exercise to reduce
the risk of virtually all chronic
diseases simultaneously.”
• Waging war on modern
chronic diseases: primary
prevention through exercise
biology Frank W. Booth, Scott
E. Gordon, Christian J. Carlson,
and Marc T. Hamilton

42. Recomendación

43. The FITT Model

44. Recomendaciones
Dejar visible siempre los zapatos deportivos
Comprarte ropa que te guste
Buscar un “running partner”
Participar de un grupo que esté caminando
Escoger un horario ideal
Trabajar con unas metas concretas
Usar música que te guste

45. Factores a
Considerar/Preferencias
personales de
Caminante o Corredor
Lugar donde prefiere
correr
Razón para
caminar/correr
Participar en carreras
(5K, 10K)
Perder peso
Mejorar la salud
Ejercitarme por su
cuenta vs. compartir
socialmente con otra
gente que corre/camina

46. Tecnología y
el VeM
Mapmyfitness:
http://www.mapmyfitness.com/
Strava: http://www.strava.com
Música: http://spotify.com
Contar los pasos:
http://www.garwin.com

47. Oportunidades para
moverse (OPM)
• Caminar cuando dejamos el
carro
• Subir las escaleras
• Caminar cuando quiera a
hablar con alguien
• Levantarse cada diez
minutos
• Estirarse en el escritorio

48. OPM
• Bailar
• Working walk or Working meeting
• Coffee walk
• OPM con su mascota
• Standing desk
• Cleaning calisthenics
• Practicar un deporte

49. OPM
Walk the
airport
One minute
workout
Otras OPM

50. Excusas: ¿Cuál es tu excusa?
• No tengo tiempo.
• No tengo la capacidad de caminar/correr
• Demasiado cansado/a
• Estoy haciendo ejercicio en el trabajo porque
estoy la mayor del tiempo parado.
• Nunca obtengo resultados.
• No encuentro la motivación.

51. Prevenir
lesiones
No exagere en su actividad física.
Tenga días de descanso.
Escuche su cuerpo.
Caliente antes de hacer ejercicio
Use el equipo adecuado: buenos zapatos, ropa
adecuada, medias
Si tiene una condición debe consultar primero a su
médico.

52. Sitios en el Area para
Caminar/Correr
• Litoral
• Parque de los próceres
• El Colegio
• El Refugio de Vida Silvestre (?)
• Pista del RUM
• Pista de Hormigueros
• Pista de Cabo Rojo
• Caminar en la playa
• La estación experimental del RUM