How are Canadians coping with the COVID-19 situation?
April 12, 2020
Sedentary behaviour interventions in real-world conditions: what are the health benefits?
April 20, 2020
Today’s blog post comes from Dr.Ragnar Viir, MD, PhD. More on Ragnar can be found at the bottom of this post.
Let us bring space life science knowledge to earth and right to our homes. Especially right now when we are sitting at home during the COVID-19 quarantine – and definitely to the elderly like myself. Astronauts and cosmonauts at the space-station have no surface and no floor under their feet to walk on. But we truly have this joy! So let us walk on the floors of our homes and outside when there is opportunity and not prohibited. Those above in space don’t sit, they lack chairs, they float. We on earth sit and sit until we are stiff and sick. Nobody can prohibit us from rising from the chair and the more often the better. Flying to Mars while floating is not feasible, astronauts` need and dream is artificial gravity to surround them, and this is already on the way. Space science has made clear that human life is regularly, and necessarily, in interaction with the force of gravity. We need this force and every time we stand up from the chair, we are giving ourselves a healthy stimulus. The more often we offer ourselves these stimuli, the better. This is simple, yet increasingly under-practiced advice.
There is a good example of the enormous potential of such an easy intervention. Dr. Joan Vernikos, Ph.D. former Director of NASA`s Life Sciences Division visited NASA’s Ames Research Center and told the story of George Mueller, and how simply standing up frequently throughout the day helped this 91-year-old man get back on his feet – listen to the short story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSoRmaNLoiw&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR2_5n_hovYdB3VA4vOEcFT9YapgXSEdK31mrEOKOo0HC7de6IOBOM65xak
About the author
Dr Ragnar Viir, MD is an Independent Researcher. He has a PhD in Exercise and Sport Sciences (Kinesiology and Biomechanics) from the University of Tartu, Estonia, 2010. In early 70`s he founded and was Chief Doctor at Värska Innovative Balneotherapy Hospital in South Estonia. He worked over 25 years at the Rheumatism Foundation Hospital in Finland. His main research interest has been water immersion microgravity simulation model and exercise therapy in water immersion. He is a member of an Immersion Model study group at the International Academy of Astronautics and a member of the Estonian Association for the Club of Rome. Also, he is a fellow who fights against a sedentary lifestyle and encourages people to get up from their chairs as often as possible. It does not cost anything for him to lie down on the floor in the middle of a lecture or radio show to show relaxation exercises; or ring the bell so that the audience would stand up.
