1 . About one-third of adults globally have high blood pressure, which increases the risk of having a heart attack or stroke (中风). Physical activity is known to lower blood pressure. However, many people have trouble keeping to exercise plans.

Yoga tends to be more sustainable (可持续的) than other forms of exercise because it is gentle, can be done with others and helps to relax the mind. Several experiments have found that yoga lowers blood pressure. However, these experiments have typically involved several sessions a week, which may not be achievable for many people.

To find out if yoga helps to reduce blood pressure in the real world, some researchers conducted a new study and analysed the electronic health records of 1,355 people aged 18 to 79 who practised yoga at least once a week. They compared each of these people with at least three other individuals. They had similar characteristics in terms of things like age, gender, and body mass index (BMI), but had no mention of practising yoga in their records. On average, the people who practised yoga had systolic blood pressure (收缩压) that was 2.8 mmHg lower and diastolic blood pressure (舒张压) that was 1.5 mmHg lower than those who didn’t.

This blood pressure reduction probably wouldn’t make a huge difference to most people in the study, since they tended to be young and healthy. They already had normal blood pressure. But at a population level, if average blood pressure declined by this much, it would prevent a significant number of heart attacks and strokes. For example, a 2018 study found that a population-wide average systolic blood pressure reduction of 2 mmHg among middle-aged adults in the US would prevent more than 12,000 heart attacks and 7,000 strokes each year.

Based on the new study, we can’t say for sure that yoga lowers blood pressure, because there may be other explanations for the findings. People who do yoga may have lower blood pressure because they tend to have better diets, not because of the yoga itself. And yoga shouldn’t be seen as the replacement for blood pressure lowering medicines. Nevertheless, yoga is likely to assist in lowering blood pressure if it encourages sedentary (久坐的) people to exercise. “The greatest benefit is getting the exercise-shy to do something rather than increasing exercise in someone who does it regularly,” an expert says.

3 . Running is the best way to keep our body fit and healthy. Those who want to burn fat and lose weight can run regularly in the morning.     1     When you run in the gentle morning atmosphere, you will get the psychological benefits along with the physical benefits. Running is more effective and also less time-consuming. Besides, in your busy day, morning is the free time to take some exercise.

    2     Dr. Scott Collier from the State University did a study on some groups of people of 40-60 years old. They walked or ran at 7 am, 1 pm and 7 pm. From this study, he saw that the group of early exercisers experienced 10 percent drop in their blood pressure. So, we see that early morning run benefits us for the long term.

Another benefit of running is the stress relief. Every day running in the morning will help you to keep your mind fresh to start your daily work.     3     It will save you one step ahead to reach your goal. It provides you with a positive mood for a day.

Running is the best way to lose weight. But you should add some other training to build your muscle and burn fat. Some elite athletes (优秀运动员) say that when you wake up in the morning, you should first run for a while.     4    

Most of the busy people do not have enough time to communicate properly with the family and social people.     5     The morning exercise such as running and walking gives us the opportunity to meet our neighbors. We can talk with them in the morning.

4 . 81-year-old Erika lives in Langenfeld, Germany, with her husband. She never used to be ________, but after her two kids grew up and left the ________, she found herself bored.

________, her daughter signed her up for a gym membership. “The first five years, I was not as ________. Then, I slowly started to do more and ________ took part in rowing competitions,” Erika said.

It has been 20 years since Erika first ________ that gym. These days, she works out twice a day. When COVID-19 began, she had to find a new way to ________ her workout desire. That's when her daughter ________ some technology-related apps to her!

She ________ participating in various workout challenges online, and it didn't take long before people ________ her. As her Internet followers grew, Erika has become a perfect ________ for the young to keep active for the benefit of their ________.

“If I can change people's stereotypes(刻板印象) about the old, it makes me very happy,” she said. Meanwhile, she often ________ younger folks through her social networks, trying hard to ________ the joy of fitness.

“I would have never ________ to get this many inspiring ________ and followers,” Erika added. “These apps have helped me to stay up-to-date with ________ and what the younger generations are ________ these days.”

Erika is showing everyone how ________ it is to grow and evolve in our lifetimes. Twenty years ago, she ________ imagined that she would be motivating people half her age on social media Now she's made it.

6 . People who play games —such as cards and board games —are more likely to staymentally sharp in later life, a study suggests. Those who regularly played non-digital gamesscored better on memory and thinking tests in their 70s, the research found.

Psychologists at the University of Edinburgh tested more than 1,000 people aged 70 formemory, problem-solving, thinking speed and general thinking ability. The participants thenrepeated the same thinking tests every three years until aged 79. The group were also askedhow often they played games like cards, chess or crosswords —at ages 70 and 76. Researchers used statistical models to analyse the relationship between a person’s level ofgame playing and their thinking skills. The team took into account the results of anintelligence test that the participants sat when they were 11 years old. They also consideredlifestyle factors,such as education, socio-economic status and activity levels.

People who increased game playing in later years were found to have experienced lessdecline in thinking skills in their seventies —particularly in memory function and thinking speed. Researchers say the findings help to better understand what kinds of lifestyles and behaviors might be associated with better outcomes for cognitive(认知的)health in later life.

The study may also help people make decisions about how best to protect their thinkingskills as they age. Dr Drew, a psychologist in Edinburgh, said: “These latest findings add toevidence that being more engaged in activities during the life course might be associated with better thinking skills in later life. For those in their 70s or beyond, another message seems to bethat playing non-digital games may be a positive behavior in terms of reducing cognitivedecline.”

The connection between playing board games and other non-digital games later in lifeand sharper thinking and memory skills adds to what we know about steps we can take to protect our cognitive health, including not drinking extra alcohol, being active and eating ahealthy diet.

9 . One of the first things that Harvard University professor Daniel E.Lieberman points out in his new book Exercised is the double meaning of the word. Not only does it mean voluntary physical activity,but as an adjective,exercised suggests being worried, anxious or tired.And there lies the problem with exercise. Most of us just don't like doing it.

Lieberman pursues a double course in"Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do ls Healthy and Rewarding'". The professor presents an in-depth look at how humans evolved from hunter-gatherers who didn't have to think twice about getting enough exercise, to those of us who have to push ourselves away from our couches and devices. The parts of the book devoted to biology and evolution can be a bit hard to understand, although Lieberman often introduces them nicely with anecdotes.

Throughout his book, Lieberman discusses the origins of exercise, a modern pursuit.In the 1700s, Samuel Johnson didn't consider the words"play"and"exercise"worthy to be included in his dictionary. Although children have always played and sports have been a "human universal,exercise outside the context of sports was extremely rare until relatively recently, Lieberman writes. He also considers various contemporary forms of exercise and their benefits: running (which he does), walking, dancing, weight training, games and even cage fighting. He drops in on a Swedish company in Stockholm whose CEO requires a weekly "sports hour"to be participated in by all employees.

However, Lieberman's primary viewpoint- that exercise is indeed good for you-comes with an important warning.It must be enjoyable.The paradox（矛盾的情况），he writes，"is that our bodies never evolved to function optimally（最佳地）without lifelong physical activity but our minds never evolved to get us moving unless it is necessary, pleasurable or rewarding.

Exercise,he writes should be social."None of us is an island when it comes to health. Our well-being is interconnected. Some is better than none.Keep it up as you age."