Turning your clock back on Sunday may be good for your heart. Researchers noticed a reduction in heart attacks in Sweden on the Monday after clocks were moved back.

Swedish researchers looked at 20 years of records and discovered that the number of heart attacks dipped on the Monday after clocks were set back an hour, possibly because people got an extra hour of sleep.

But moving clocks forward in the spring appeared to have the opposite effect. There were more heart attacks during the week after the start of daylight saving time, particularly on the first three days of the week.

The nation’s new exercise guidelines set a minimum sweat allotment for good health. For most adults, that’s 2½ hours a week.

The HHS panel found that regular physical activity can reduce the chances of early death.

How much physical activity you need depends largely on age and level of fitness.

Moderate exercise adds up for sluggish adults. Rake leaves, take a quick walk around the block or suit up for the neighborhood softball game. More fit adults could pack in their week’s requirement in 75 minutes with vigorous exercise, such as jogging, hiking uphill, a bike race or speedy laps in the pool.

Seniors are engaging in more sports activities in nursing homes and senior centers. Bowling, baseball and even boxing are all favories, and they’re all on the Wii Nintendo game system. The Wii system came out in November 2006. The sports program also includes tennis and golf.

Players hold a wireless console that detects the player’s movements, as players use the same motions they’d use if they were actually playing the game. When Nintendo came up with the Wii sports program, developers thought it would get children off of the couch to be more active as they played a gaming system, said Anka Dolecki, Nintendo of America’s director of public relations, in an e-mail.

Use it or lose it” holds true for the brain as much as for other parts of the body, say researchers who found older people who were trained on brain exercises stayed mentally fit for at least five years.

In Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association, Sherry Willis, a human-development professor at Penn State University, and her colleagues describe the results of brain training sessions. They studied nearly 3,000 people with an average age of 73 when the study began.

The training included hour-long classes over six weeks and exercises done on a computer. Researchers focused on three abilities: memory, reasoning and speed of processing.

Here are some things you can do to make sure you are exercising safely:

1. Start slowly, especially if you haven’t been active for a long time. Little by little build up your activities and how hard you work at them.
2. Don’t hold your breath during strength exercises. That could cause changes in your blood pressure. It may seem strange at first, but you should breathe out as you lift something, and breathe in as you relax.
3. Use safety equipment. For example, wear a helmet for bike riding or the right shoes for walking or jogging.

If you’re looking for something to do try these activities:

Scrapbooking: Gathering your photos is a fun walk down memory lane. It even helps you organize your treasures.

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner club: Gather a group of friends and meet on a regular basis for meals and fun!

Journaling: Try writing your thoughts down in a book . Keep track of important events and things going on in your life. This can be something you pass along to your family.

Chair Exercises: Anytime, Anywhere! You can find chair exercises for seniors online or pick up a book at your local bookstore or even a video.

Yoga classes for seniors are becoming increasingly popular. Check local senior centers, retirement communities, religious organizations and even health clubs for senior yoga classes. If you can’t find a special senior class, a gentle beginners class will do. Lyengar yoga, with its emphasis on adapting the practice through the use of props such a blocks and chairs, is also good for seniors and many Iyengar centers offer classes for this demographic.

Ingredients

2/3 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 cup canned plain pumpkin puree
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar or 1/3 cup Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup dark molasses
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 3 baking sheets with cooking spray.
2. Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg in a large bowl.
3. Whisk pumpkin, brown sugar (or Splenda), eggs, oil and molasses in a second bowl until well combined. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until no traces of dry ingredients remain. Drop the batter by level tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies 1 1/2 inches apart.
4. Bake the cookies until firm to the touch and lightly golden on top, 10 to 12 minutes, switching the pans back to front and top to bottom halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup golden brown sugar, packed
1 cup and 1 Tbs. flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
7 Tbs. margarine and 2 Tbs. water in place of 1 stick butter
2 egg whites in place of 1 large egg
1/4 cup mini-chocolate chips in place of 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or coat with nonstick spray.

DEAR Beth and participants of FIT Seniors,
    I started with Beth¹s home program last March.  At that time I was
bedridden and after many bad bouts with Physical therapists I was scared.
To this date I went from simple exercises and stretchings.  Now almost seven
months later I use three pound weights on my legs and three pounds on my
hands.  My usual workouts is about thirty minutes.
    Thanks to Beth and her knowledge off my condition I am stronger and have
better balance all the way around.  I have chronic back pain and before my
therapy I could walk only 15 ft.  Now with my walker I get around very well.
Not once did I every hurt after my work outs.  I work out three times a week
and feel so lucky Beth was put on my journey.
    So don¹t give up, put the work outs as a priority and you will have very
good results.  If you have any questions ,just post them and I will answer
them to the best of my ability.
    Thanks again Beth.