Good morning! Like the surprise Sabrina Carpenter concert I got to see this past Sunday, we’re keeping it Short n’ Sweet this week.

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React before you think?!

I bet you’ve been told to think before you speak. But sometimes, we may need to act (or react, to be precise) before we even speak.

Maintaining quick, agile, and controlled reactions is actually one of the greatest factors that will contribute to our healthspan, particularly as we age.

Think about it. Most of the injuries that older adults encounter come from a poor reaction time to spontaneous events: A slip on the ice. A trip on the stairs. Being bumped by a stranger. Reaching to catch something that fell. Avoiding a moving obstacle. Tripping while putting pants on.

So much of our lives (at least in the natural world, not so much at our desks) are dependent upon successful reactions to unpredictability around us. There’s a life lesson analogy in there that I’m resisting the temptation to unpack.

Our ability to reactively move quickly and with force is basically just a description of expressing power when caught by surprise. And we know that, faster than almost anything else, power can decline rapidly as we age if we don’t continue training it.

Not to mention balance, which is also a vital aspect of staying healthy and injury-free throughout our lives. Training our reactions will improve our balance.

Bone mineral density is also a crucial but oft-overlooked component of healthy aging. Without training stimuli, it declines steadily with age to potentially dangerous, osteopenic levels. With training, however, we can slow, maintain, and sometimes even increase our bone health over time! And one of the primary ways to do that is put bones under a quick, powerful, ever-so-slightly deforming load. The eustress results in bone remodeling. Fantastic! 🦴 

React to this advice:

Take part in reactive sports or activities at least once per week. These are activities where you don’t control every variable.

In most of our exercise routines, we spend minimal to no time reacting to things:

• We lift the weight and put it back down; it’s not unstable or unpredictable.

• We run or cycle or swim or row using the same motions on repeat, not expecting variability.

But life’s obstacles don’t come at us in a predictable way. We have to train our minds and bodies—and particularly the connection between the two—to react. If we can respond with speed, precision, and stability, we can resist almost anything thrown our way. 

Most sports—especially those that involve interacting with other players—are a good degree of reactive. Some activities that might not come to mind at first could be dancing with others, trail running (you must react to a changing environment), exploring a new city, or something simple like ping pong or pickleball.

If you can’t think of anything outside the gym, at least occasionally work with resistance bands, medicine balls, kettlebells, or other similar instruments that have a little built-in instability. 

Spending some time every week in an unpredictable environment that trains our reaction has more benefits than just the activity itself confers. We’re continuing to use our minds and bodies as they’re intended, strengthening the neural pathways that give us our capacity to respond to all sorts of stimuli. 

Train your reaction time weekly so that the next time you miss that step or swerve to avoid a flailing child, you’re able to stay upright and unaffected. She is beauty, she is grace. She is Miss United States. (American voters, get to the polls!) 🇺🇸 

✅ Take Action

Every newsletter's Take Action section will invite you to take small steps to improve your health. Recognizing that we all have different capabilities, I'll offer three different levels of action you can choose to take.

Level 1: If you don’t have any in your life, try one reactive physical activity this week.

Level 2: Put it in your schedule. At least once per week, you’re playing a reactive sport or doing something that challenges your reactions.

Level 3: Make a habit of embracing the unpredictable. Expect the unexpected. Say yes to new activities and places. Try doing things on one leg or with eyes closed for extra challenge!

This newsletter is brought to you by… me!

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✍️ Drew's Picks:

• Long live living long: Is radical human life extension possible? A fascinating dive into life expectancy.

• Health Hacks: Optimize your metabolic health with this podcast’s advice.

• Bone-ita: A deep dive on bone health, why it’s so important, and how to improve it.

What are your Halloween costumes?! Reply to this email and let me know! I may shout out some of the best ones next week if they’re worthy (and as good as mine)! 🎃 👻 🍬 

Keep moving,

Drew

The content in Move to Improve is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. It is always a good idea to consult with a trusted health professional before making any major lifestyle changes that could have a significant impact on your health. This is not a medical resource, and any opinions and articles are not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. They are not substitutes for consulting a qualified medical professional. Please think critically and take what I say with a grain of salt (aka don’t sue me).