Good Morning! 🌞

In line with today’s article here’s a quick and effective thing you can do today to get in (or stay in) shape! I do this a lot when I’m traveling and don’t have a lot of time to work out or play sports:

Try the "5-4-3-2-1" workout. It mixes things up and keeps your body guessing. Spend 5 minutes warming up (think jumping jacks), then move on to 4 minutes of bodyweight exercises (like squats or push-ups), followed by 3 minutes of core strengthening (planks or sit up’s), 2 minutes of high-intensity cardio (burpees or high knees), and finally, cool down with 1 minute of stretching. It’s a full-body blitz that's over before you know it, and you can do it anywhere!

Science

Women Get More Health Gains From Exercise

Encouraging news has emerged for women who believe that they don’t get as much out of exercise as men. Recent studies indicate that women reap greater health advantages from physical activity than men, even with a lower level of effort.

Researchers have discovered that regular exercise significantly decreases women's chances of premature death or death from heart conditions more than it does for men.

A study spanning over two decades showed that active women had a 24% lower risk of dying from any cause and a 36% reduction in the risk of dying from heart attacks, strokes, or other cardiovascular events, compared to inactive women.

In contrast, men who engaged in regular physical activity saw a 15% decrease in the risk of premature death and a 14% decrease in the risk of death from heart conditions, compared to those who were less active.

“We hope this study encourages everyone, particularly women, to realize the immense benefits exercise can bring,” said Dr. Susan Cheng, chair of women’s cardiovascular health and population science at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.

“Exercise is a powerful tool for living a healthier and longer life,” Cheng continued. “Given that women generally exercise less than men, we hope these results motivate more women to incorporate more activity into their daily lives.”

The research analyzed data from over 400,000 adults in the U.S., aged 27 to 61, showing that all forms of physical activity are more beneficial to women than to men. This includes:

• Moderate aerobic activities, such as brisk walking or gardening

• High-intensity exercises, like running, spinning, or skipping rope

• Strength training exercises, using free weights, machines, or body weight

For both genders, a moderate level of physical activity reduced the risk of death, plateauing at about five hours per week. At this level, women and men saw a 24% and 18% reduction in the risk of early death, respectively.

Moreover, engaging in 110 minutes of vigorous exercise weekly resulted in a 24% lower risk of death for women and a 19% reduction for men.

Strength training on a weekly basis decreased the risk of early death by 19% for women and 11% for men, and the risk of death from heart conditions by 30% for women and 11% for men.

Interestingly, women achieved equivalent health benefits to men with less exercise. For moderate aerobic activities, women reached an 18% reduction in risk in half the time it took men -- 140 minutes a week, or just under 2.5 hours, compared to 5 hours for men.

For vigorous activities, women attained a 19% reduction in risk with only 57 minutes of exercise per week, whereas men required 110 minutes.

“Even minimal regular exercise can offer significant benefits, particularly for women,” Cheng noted. “Setting aside some time for physical activity, even if it's just a 20-30 minute intense session a few times a week, can provide more benefits than one might expect.”

Differences in anatomy and physiology may explain these benefits, with men typically having larger lung capacities, bigger hearts, more muscle mass, and a higher proportion of fast-twitch muscle fibers than women.

Thus, the same physical activity demands more from women's bodies than men's, leading to greater health benefits for women.

However, the study also found that a minority of participants exercised enough to attain the maximum benefits observed. Only 33% of women and 43% of men met the recommended levels for weekly aerobic exercise, and merely 20% of women and 28% of men engaged in weekly strength training.

The findings were published on Feb. 19 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Hopefully, this research can encourage both men and women to exercise. One of the most important things to remember, even a little is much better than none. If you are looking at the recommended times from the study and thinking “I can’t possible work out that much”, just remember that a little bit goes a long way.

Environment

Nonprofit Takes out 2 Millions Pounds of Trash

The TerraCycle Global Foundation shared some good news last month, saying they've taken out more than 2 million pounds of trash from rivers, canals, and waterways.

This nonprofit group was created to deal with the problem of ocean pollution starting from where it begins – in waterways. When these water routes get polluted, the trash goes straight to the oceans, hurting sea life and the environment. They've managed to redirect and recycle over 1000 tons of waste.

Because TerraCycle, the company behind the Foundation, is known for turning plastic waste into stuff they can sell, none of the collected litter goes to waste. They've been working in canals in Bangkok, Thailand, to stop waste from getting into global water systems.

Right now, the Foundation is using traps in Thai canals that are safe for wildlife to get rid of waste from the water. They sort through the waste, and the plastics are separated and recycled.

James Scott, who runs the TerraCycle Global Foundation, said, "We're looking at the whole picture to reduce plastic waste in waterways. Our work gives people in the local Lat Phrao community in Bangkok stable jobs and makes the areas along the canal cleaner and healthier." He adds that hitting the milestone of removing waste is just the start of their work to keep oceans clean and protect the planet.

If you're into what TerraCycle is doing with recycling, including their bracelets that help gather 20 lbs of plastic waste with each purchase, check out their efforts. All of it helps reduce litter and create new things from recycled materials.

Culture

96-Year-Old Britain's Oldest Worker has No Plans to Retire

Britain's oldest worker, Bill Parton, aged 96, isn't thinking about retiring anytime soon. He's been working for eight decades and still puts in five days a week at the sawmill he started 42 years ago. Parton, who began as a plumber's apprentice during World War II at 14, now mainly helps in the office but isn't afraid to get his hands dirty if needed.

"I've never missed a week's work in all my life. I did have a hip operation that laid me off for a couple of days though," says Parton. His grandchildren now run the family business, but he still stays involved: "I used to be the gaffer—now I'm really the go-fer. You've got to let the kids have a go."

Parton credits his work ethic to a bit of luck and his late wife, Joan, during their 60-year marriage: "She was the real boss. She had the brains, and always knew what we were doing. She built us a great name."

Reflecting on maintaining a good reputation, he adds, "It's easy to get a bad name, it's hard to get a good one and keep it for all these years."

World News

Politician Gives Up Seat Over Election Interference

In a highly disputed election in Pakistan, Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, a newly-elected provincial parliamentarian from the Jamaat-e-Islami party, initially thought he won Karachi’s provincial seat #129. However, he discovered significant vote tampering and decided to give up the seat to his opponent, Saif Bari, backed by the Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

Election results showed Mr. Rehman earning more than 26,000 votes, but he later told Reuters that he discovered the tally for his opponent had been reduced, without explanation, from 31,000 to 11,000 after the voting machines were tabulated.

Rehman told Reuters, "Public opinion should be respected, let the winner win, let the loser lose, no one should get anything extra. I will not accept it; the winner should be given the victory."

Despite the election turmoil, PTI secured the majority of parliamentary seats. Rehman's decision to uphold honesty amid allegations and evidence of irregularities served as an inspirational instance of integrity in the democratic process. What a role-model!

Mind Stretchers 

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Eva’s mother had three children. The first was called April, the second was called May. What was the name of the third?

The answer to yesterday’s Mind Stretcher was:
The three different whole numbers whose sum is equal to their total when multiplied are 1, 2 and 3.

Albert Knox got the correct answer in first!

Be the first to send us the correct answer for today’s mind stretcher for a shout-out with the answer tomorrow. Just send us the answer and your name to [email protected] or reply to this email.

If you have any uplifting stories and experience you might want to share, send those over to [email protected] for the chance to be featured.