The Importance of Muscles in Health and Longevity

There is a huge emphasis on losing weight in today’s discussions of health and wellness, but what often gets lost is the importance of maintaining muscle mass, which all too often suffers with common weight loss efforts.

Higher muscle mass is one of the biggest predictors of longevity and health span (how old you are while still being overall healthy, physically active, and able to carry out normal daily activities). But because of the huge emphasis on weight loss, it’s not unsual for well-meaning efforts to sabotage our muscle mass in favor of shedding pounds.

Take the drug Ozempic, for example (actually, it’s probably better if you don’t take it!). It’s extremely popular for weight loss, but a large part of the weight loss it provides is in the form of decreased muscle mass. Given the established importance of muscle mass to living a long, healthy life, one study suggested that taking Ozempic was like aging yourself 10 years!

Age-related muscle loss (really more due to the inactivity typical of aging rather than just the simple passage of time) is strongly associated with the development of Type II diabetes, decreased immune function, and an increased age-matched mortality rate.

Exercise, consuming adequate protein, and getting good sleep are keys to maintaining or increasing muscle mass.

Any type of exercise is helpful, and I always say that the best type of exercise is whatever you will do on a regular basis. That said, resistance training is the most effective type of exercise for building or maintaining muscle mass. But you don’t have to lift huge amounts of weight and you don’t need a gym outfitted with a bunch of expensive equipment. If you have access to a gym, that’s great, but you can get a great workout with some simple home equipment, or just body weight exercises like push-ups and squats.

To give you an idea of a basic, but versatile resistance training set up, my home gym consists of a combination pull up and dip station, a weight bench with a rack for bench press, a bar and weight plates, a few pairs of hand weights of various sizes, and a slant board for abdominal exercises.

If you’ve never done resistance training before, I suggest having at least a few sessions with a personal trainer or, especially if you have any chronic injuries or musculoskeletal issues that need to be considered, a physical therapist, to show you what to do and make sure you are doing the exercises safely.

Protein intake is important so that you have the raw materials for building muscle tissue. How much protein you need is a matter of some debate, and may depend on other factors, such as digestive function. Part of the variation in protein recommendations has to do with what the intention is. Basic health needs are typically met at a level of about .35 grams per pound of body weight per day. But for muscle building (combined with resistance training), experts suggest .5 to .8 grams per pound of body weight per day.

Finally, getting adequate sleep is critical for building and maintaining muscle mass. Not only does sleep provide rest to allow muscles time to recover from exercise, melatonin and other hormones associated with the sleep cycle appear to be involved in muscle repair and recovery. As a general rule, at least 7 hours of quality sleep are recommended for most people, not only for muscle building, but also for good cognitive functioning and minimizing the deposition of visceral fat. A good sleep environment is helpful for this. A quiet, dark room with minimal light-emitting devices and a comfortable temperature can really enhance sleep quality, as does avoiding blue light from computer and television screens and other electronic devices for one to two hours before going to bed.

It does require some effort to maintain muscle mass and with all the distractions and demands on our time in today’s world, it’s easy to become complacent, or just lose focus on taking care of ourselves. But aging is going to happen one way or another, and I think it’s well worth the time and effort to try to make it happen with minimal decline in physical capabilities. It’s easy to procrastinate and tell ourselves that I’ll start working out when… Unfortunately, the longer you wait, the harder it is to get started and stay motivated.

So, if you’re not already working on keeping your muscles strong and healthy, I suggest you get started now!

Until next time…

George F. Best, D.C.