It's no secret that Donald Trump is one of the most highly controversial presidents ever. He's in the headlines every day, and reading his Twitter feed is like reading a person's stream of consciousness. You know, the things we think but should never say? Needless to say, Trump has some very unusual ideas, and he's not at all afraid to voice his opinion.
One of Trump's such unusual opinions is his stance on wind turbines. During an interview, Trump made the following comments:
“Was I involved with the wind farms recently? Or, not that I know of. I mean, I have a problem with wind…”
“I might have brought it up. But not having to do with me, just I mean, the wind is a very deceiving thing."
“First of all, we don’t make the windmills in the United States. They’re made in Germany and Japan. They’re made out of massive amounts of steel, which goes into the atmosphere, whether it’s in our country or not, it goes into the atmosphere.”
In case you weren't aware, none of the steel from wind turbines makes it into the atmosphere.
Trump also has some unusual thoughts when it comes to space travel to Mars. More specifically, he thinks it's a whole lot easier than NASA believes it to be. During a chat with the International Space Station, Trump asked when it might be likely to send people to Mars. When told that the feat might be possible in 2030, his response was: “Well, we want to try and do it during my first term or, at worst, during my second term, so we'll have to speed that up a little bit, okay?”
Sure. No problem. NASA will get right on that.
And who could forget Trump's Tweets about Andrew Jackson? Trump Tweeted about the Civil War, wondering whether Andrew Jackson could have stopped it. The problem is, Jackson died 16 years before the Civil War began, but that doesn't matter to Trump. He wrote, "I mean, had Andrew Jackson been a little later you wouldn't have had the Civil War....he had a big heart. He was really angry that he saw what was happening with regard to the Civil War, he said 'There's no reason for this.'"
So yes, we know that Trump's ideas can be a little out there. But his thoughts about exercise? Well, they take the cake. According to the New Yorker, “Other than golf, he considers exercise misguided, arguing that a person, like a battery, is born with a finite amount of energy.”
There's a major flaw with Trump's thinking about exercise: Humans aren't batteries. We're not born with a finite amount of energy that we get to use up during our lifetimes. If we were, then those of us who exercise and stay active would run out of juice a lot longer than sedentary people would.
Trump is partially right in his thinking. Exercise does use up energy. But so does driving your car, reading a book, or just sitting on the couch. The key here, though, is that eating and drinking help to recharge our energy so that we can continue on with our activities.
What Trump is missing, here, is the fact that if you exercise, you can build up your muscle and become stronger. You can also lose weight, which allows you to move more efficiently. With exercise, you can enhance your energy supply, meaning that you can do more with less energy over time.
Not convinced? That's okay, there are plenty of other reasons to exercise. One of the best reasons to exercise is that it changes your brain and can improve your memory.
Feeling stressed? A good exercise session may be the answer. Exercising increases your levels of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. These chemicals help to soothe you, making you feel better no matter how much stress you're facing.
People struggling with depression can benefit from regular exercise. Depression damages neurons in certain areas of the brain, but exercise actually helps to stimulate the growth of those very neurons. Research has also found that engaging in three sweat-inducing workout sessions each week can reduce the symptoms of depression about as effectively as antidepressants do.
Want to improve your learning capabilities? Exercise is key. Exercise helps to build new brain cells and establish connections in our brain, meaning that we are better able to learn as a result. More complicated forms of exercise, like taking a dance class or playing a game like tennis, maximize this brain-building benefit.
While it's easier to feel better about yourself when you're happy with your body, exercise builds self-esteem in other ways, too. Just seeing fitness improvements, like running a faster time or swimming a lap faster can boost your self-esteem. Your body image is also improved by exercise, meaning that you can be happier with yourself.
Research shows that workers who exercise regularly are more productive and have more energy than sedentary workers. Exercise can also help to boost our inspiration. A good exercise session can increase creativity for up to two hours after.
Some people become addicted to dopamine, the chemical that the brain releases any time something is pleasurable, such as alcohol or food. But exercise also releases dopamine, and can help in addiction recovery. Shorter exercise sessions can help to distract addicts so they can get through their cravings.
Exercise may help to prevent the development of Alzheimer's disease. Exercise may help to protect the hippocampus, which is usually the first region of the brain to develop Alzheimer's. A daily walk or jog may be the key to keeping ALzheimer's away.
Let's not forget that exercise improves both cognition and mood. Increased blood circulation generated by energy travels to the brain. You can actually think better and feel better because of exercise. Perhaps this is something that President Trump should take into consideration.
So, Donald Trump, go ahead and enjoy your golfing. The rest of us will stick to exercise and its scientifically proven benefits. You can't beat good health, especially with the future of health insurance being up in the air.