Lifestyle: The Third Pillar of Health

General 3 Minutes

The Broad Strokes of Lifestyle

Lifestyle encompasses a range of habits and behaviors:

  • Movement: Regular physical activity supports cardiovascular health, maintains muscle mass, and boosts mental well-being.
  • Sunlight and Nature: Exposure to natural light and green spaces can improve mood and regulate circadian rhythms.
  • Substance Use: From alcohol to cannabis to medications, how we engage with substances affects our sleep, hormones, and resilience. Occasional, intentional use may not be a problem—but chronic use often comes at a cost.
  • Stress Management: Managing stress isn’t only about breathwork or meditation—it’s also about how we relate to our thoughts, reframe challenges, and regulate emotions under pressure.
  • Social Connections: Engaging with a community provides emotional support and has been linked to longer life expectancy.

While each of these elements plays a role, let’s delve deeper into a critical cornerstone of lifestyle: movement.

Exercise: The Cornerstone of a Healthy Lifestyle

Shared Benefits: Cardio & Resistance Training

Not all movement is the same, but much of it leads to similar outcomes. Whether you’re lifting weights or going for a run, both resistance and cardiovascular training offer a wide range of overlapping benefits:

  • Improved metabolic health: Both forms of exercise help regulate blood sugar, increase insulin sensitivity, and support healthy body composition.
  • Better mood and mental health: Regular physical activity reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety, improves stress resilience, boosts feel-good brain chemicals like endorphins and dopamine, and helps regulate the nervous system.
  • Cognitive support: Movement increases blood flow to the brain and stimulates the release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which aids memory, focus, and long-term brain health.
  • Hormonal balance: Exercise can improve testosterone, estrogen, and growth hormone levels, while helping regulate cortisol when practiced consistently and mindfully.
  • Lower inflammation and biological aging: Studies show that both resistance and cardio training reduce markers of chronic inflammation and can even slow biological aging.

But while they share a lot, they also each bring something unique to the table.

Cardiovascular Exercise: Building Endurance from the Inside Out

Cardio exercise is especially valuable for:

  • Heart and circulatory health: Aerobic activity strengthens the heart, lowers blood pressure, and improves overall circulation—helping reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
    (CDC)
  • Mitochondrial function and metabolism: Steady-state cardio, especially Zone 2 training, enhances mitochondrial health and supports long-term metabolic efficiency.
    (Peter Attia, MD)
  • Brain health and cognitive protection: Regular cardio is linked to greater hippocampal volume and slower age-related cognitive decline, supporting memory and mental clarity.
    (Harvard Health)
  • Accessibility and adaptability: Activities like walking, swimming, and cycling are low-barrier and easy to sustain. Even short sessions can deliver benefits, and interval training offers similar gains in less time.
    (Harvard Medical School)

Resistance Training: Building Strength for Life

Resistance training is especially valuable for:

  • Muscle and bone health: It preserves lean mass, prevents frailty, and supports bone density—key factors in aging well and maintaining independence.
    (NIH source)
  • Glucose control: While both cardio and strength training help, resistance work is especially effective by increasing muscle mass, which improves how your body stores and uses blood sugar—even at rest.
    (Harvard Health)
  • Posture and injury prevention: Strong muscles support alignment, reduce back pain, and improve movement patterns that protect joints and reduce fall risk.
    (Mayo Clinic)
  • Resilience and longevity: Grip strength and muscle mass are strong predictors of lifespan—arguably more useful than weight or BMI in older adults. Just 90 minutes of resistance training per week has been shown to slow biological aging by up to four years.
    (Prevention.com)

Crafting a Sustainable Exercise Routine

Building a lasting exercise habit doesn’t require drastic measures. Start with manageable goals:

  • Consistency Over Intensity: Regular, moderate workouts are more sustainable and beneficial than sporadic intense sessions.
  • Find Activities You Enjoy: Whether it’s dancing, hiking, or sports, engaging in activities you enjoy will help you stick with the practice.
  • Pair It with Routine Anchors: Linking your workouts to an existing habit—like a walk after work or lifting before your shower—makes the behavior easier to stick with over time.

Bringing It All Together

Whether you’re lifting weights, walking in the woods, dancing in your kitchen, or easing into a gentle swim, the goal isn’t perfection—it’s momentum.

Start where you are. Pick something that feels doable. Keep showing up, and over time, even small choices compound into something strong, steady, and life-giving.

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Published by Dr. Michael Dunbar, ND, LAc

Michael Dunbar is a Naturopathic Doctor and Licensed Acupuncturist. Born and raised in Raleigh, NC before going to UNC-CH and graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health – Nutrition. Michael then moved to Oregon to pursue a dual degree of a Naturopathic Doctorate and Masters of Acupuncture. During his time at the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, OR, he also received his Oregon massage license specific to Shiatsu (acupressure) massage. His path began with a desire to find treatments that did not just mask symptoms but instead help cure disease or avoid becoming sick all together. This search is what led to the significant study and personal testing of a number of dietary regimen. He’s settled on a whole food based approach which can be customized to the needs of each individual. At NUNM, Michael’s education led him to understand that certain lifestyle factors including nutrition, sleep, exercise, and stress management are the keys to health and by focusing on these basics many of the health issues people experience can be avoided or reversed. Another basic principle Michael has incorporated into his healing practice is the healing power of mindfulness. Michael has cultivated mindfulness through meditation, chi gong and Tai Chi, and uses this moment to moment awareness to inform his massage and acupuncture treatments. This mindfulness is how he “gets out of the way” to create a healing space for his patients. In his personal life, Michael enjoys Contra and Blues dancing, weight lifting, and travel. He looks for a balance to maximize health and happiness in each day.

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