'Tis the season to gather friends and loved ones around a feast, stuff ourselves full of our favorite foods, and be grateful for each other. But have you ever thought about being grateful for what your body can do? In a world where it’s easy to criticize our looks and abilities, a little self-love goes a long way. Even if you’ve got goals to make changes, there’s nothing wrong with taking a pause to show your skin and bones a little respect for all they do for you. Here are 5 scientific reasons to be thankful for your body.
5 scientific reasons to be thankful for your body:
1. Your hard-working heart
Over the course of 78.6 years, the human heart will pump 57.3 million gallons of blood. Every day it pushes 2,000 gallons of oxygen-rich nutrients through over 60,000 miles of blood vessels. It’s sending your blood nearly the same distances as going around the earth 2.5 times.
In the early days of cardiology, exercise and heart health was misunderstood to the extent that it was wrongly believed the human heart has a finite number of beats, and speeding it up by exercising would accelerate you closer to death. Just like other muscles in the body, the heart responds to exercise with increased size and strength. Regular aerobic exercise lowers resting heart rate due to increased stroke volume. Interestingly, a lower resting heart rate is correlated with longevity.
2. A respiratory system that never stops
You take 60-100 breaths every 5 minutes, without even thinking about it. Your nose is a filter, heater, and humidifier that warms air to body temperature and adds moisture while trapping inhaled particles and microbes.
Your primary breathing muscle, the diaphragm, functions both voluntarily and involuntarily. Diaphragmatic breathing, also known as belly breathing or abdominal breathing is one of the quickest ways to relax and lower your stress levels, and can also be used to treat anxiety, asthma, GI symptoms, and COPD.
3. Cleansing kidneys and liver
Kidneys help make red blood cells and regulate blood pressure. They filter around 45 gallons of blood a day, a half-cup every minute. The liver creates blood and detoxifies the body from harmful things like alcohol and drugs, it has the amazing capability of regenerating itself.
What are some ways to take care of your kidneys and liver?
1. Regular exercise
2. Control your weight
3. Stay hydrated
4. Limit NSAIDS, such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen
4. Nutrient-absorbing intestine
The small intestine’s folds and fingerlike projections of villi tissue and microvilli, give it a surface area the size of a tennis court (2,700 square feet). All space is used to absorb food which has first been chemically reduced to the size of molecules by the stomach.
Did you know that the brain-gut connection is real? The Brain-Gut Axis is a bidirectional link between the central nervous system and the enteric nervous system. It is also linked through endocrine, immune, and hormonal pathways, affecting everything from psychological disorders to GI disorders.
5. Danger-sensing skin
Your skin doesn’t just hold everything in, it regulates your temperature, protects your organs, and keeps you safe through the sense of touch. The skin completely renews itself every 28 days. Your lips and mouth are 200 times more sensitive than your fingerprints.
Did you know that our skin is the largest sensory organ in our body? In humans, the skin has adapted amazingly for thermoregulation – how our bodies regulate temperature. Our sweat glands provide evaporative cooling during prolonged endurance exercise, giving us a clear advantage over all other animals. Sweating is a uniquely human function.
Our bodies are capable of some incredible things, that’s why our team at GO Sleeves is so passionate about helping your body stay in motion with as much ease as possible! This Thanksgiving, we hope that you acknowledge all of the amazing things your body does for you – the adventures it has taken you on, the obstacles you and your body have overcome, the beauty in its imperfections and its amazing resilience and adaptability! We are so lucky to have our bodies, listen to what yours needs and treat it with the respect, care, and love it deserves.
From all of us here at GO Sleeves, have a beautiful, happy, and healthy Thanksgiving! We are so grateful to have you here on our journey with us.
GO Sleeves offer the first and only compression sleeve products with built-in kinesiology taping technology that supports key joints, ligaments, and tendons. Every sleeve contains silicone strips that trigger natural pain reduction, increase recuperating blood flow, and aid in lymphatic drainage. They are super-lightweight, breathable, washable, and reusable. GO Sleeves currently offer knee sleeves, calf sleeves, and elbow sleeves.
