Move More During The Day

A prevalent and concerning trend in modern society is the adoption of a more sedentary lifestyle, which has a significant negative impact on our health and well-being. The average person can spend a majority of their day sitting down. They can sit down at their job and sit down more when they are at home “relaxing” after a long day at work. Children are sitting more, as well. They spend their school day sitting in their classes, sitting doing their homework, and they also spend time sitting playing video games or watching TV after a “long day” at school. All this sitting is resulting in negative consequences for the overall health of society. How can we address the negative impact of prolonged sitting and promote a more active lifestyle? Get up and move more! Here are ways to incorporate movement into your day!

Alarm

One way is to set an alarm/reminder to get up from your desk and get some movement each hour. You do not need to go through an entire workout, but you can get up and take a walk around your office or home throughout the day. You can also go through a series of stretches to do at your desk or where you’ve been sitting. There are a number of Google searches and YouTube videos to help give you an idea of movements to complete that can take just a few minutes. Merely stretching out during your day can reap numerous benefits for you.

Stairs

Consider taking the stairs instead of using the elevator when you have an opportunity. If you are going up several floors in an elevator, consider stopping a few floors before and take the stairs for the rest. Or start on the stairs and catch the elevator on a higher floor to finish the journey. Make sure you can re-enter the floors after being on the steps before you begin this. Additionally, find ways to take easier stairs if you have a great number of floors to take between levels in a building, and you are new to this.  

Parking

You can park farther away from the building when you park to add some more steps into your day. You can do this when you are going shopping, on your way into work, when you are going to the doctor’s office, or even the grocery store. It should be easier to find a space as well because most people park as close to the building as possible.

Pacing

When you are on the phone, brushing your teeth, waiting for the elevator, or waiting for food to be prepared, you can pace around the area that you are in. You don’t need to go very far, but make sure you keep your body moving. If you have a walking tracker, you can figure out how many steps you add to your day simply by pacing around while you are doing other things or waiting for something to finish. You are going to end up being pleasantly surprised.

Avoid
One thing to avoid is becoming a “weekend warrior” where you try to make up for your sedentary lifestyle in one or two days on the weekend. There are a large number of people who try this and end up being injured because they pushed it too hard and went beyond their capabilities. You cannot make up for a week of sitting down in one day. You need to incorporate more movement in each day to notice the benefits to your health.

Combating the negative effects of prolonged sitting requires conscious effort to incorporate more movement into our daily routines. Whether it’s setting alarms to remind ourselves to get up and stretch, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking farther away to add more steps, pacing while waiting, or avoiding the temptation to become a “weekend warrior,” small changes can make a big difference in promoting an active lifestyle. By breaking the cycle of excessive sitting and finding ways to move more during the day, we can take steps towards improving our overall health and well-being.