The electric toothbrush I’ve been using last couple of years comes with a two-minute buzzer – meant as an indicator for how long to brush your teeth (at a minimum).
As would be expected, I’ve rarely ever got to the buzzer – finishing my brushing in a minute or so, well below the suggested time. Of course my teeth are in a crap state.
A few months ago I started going to a pilates class once a week. However, it was clear to me that once a week wasn’t enough, and I couldn’t afford to go more (both financially and time-wise).
As a compromise, the instructor offered a few suggestions on how to get a few exercises in a usual day. One of those suggestions was to do single leg stands while brushing teeth – stand on left leg when brushing the right side, and vice versa. This one stuck.
A couple of months in, and the other side effect of this pilates exercise is becoming clearer. As I’ve become better at single leg balancing, I try to stay longer on each leg, and thus spend longer cleaning my teeth.
The result: In over a month, I’ve never stopped short of the buzzer :)
The other side effect: I now need to charge my toothbrush weekly, after running out of power twice, against the once in 2-3 weeks I use to do earlier.
So, stronger legs, better balance, and healthier teeth. It’s a win-win :)
Try it out..