May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month!

Did you know the month of May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month? In 1983, President Reagan encouraged Americans to include more physical activity into our lives, and the reminder is even more important today as more people are more distracted by television, social networking and working more hours. Living an active lifestyle can and does improve physical and mental health, productivity and overall well-being. The best part? It doesn’t have to take a lot of time or effort.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has provided these public health guidelines for your reference. The guidelines call for people to exercise one hour every day of moderate intensity physical activity (such as playing sports or brisk walking) or one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous activity (jogging, jumping rope or dancing).

At Gustafson and Morningstar Family Dentistry, we always encourage our patients to exercise or participate in sports. However, we want to remind you to always wear a mouth guard or other forms of mouth or facial protection - trust us, there are plenty - when doing so. To learn more about how often you should exercise, we recommend you check out these helpful tips, courtesy of our friends at the American Heart Association.