You have one life. Don’t sit it out.
The scientific evidence is clear: excessive sitting increases your risk of dying prematurely. Being sedentary is the shortcut to the cemetery. But just as importantly, sitting too much also reduces the quality of the years you do have. Sedentary people have more chronic diseases, higher rates of obesity, more joint pain, more depression and anxiety, and they report feeling less energetic and less happy than people who are more active. You are meant to live a full, vibrant, active life, pursuing your interests and passions and spending time with the people you love. Sitting too much can ruin the dreams and ambitions you have for your life.
If you want to build a better life for yourself, we recommend 3 things:
If you want to build a better life for yourself, we recommend 3 things:
1. When you sit, make it a point to get up and move around for a couple of minutes every 30 minutes and at least every hour. Uninterrupted sitting-- sitting for hours with no break for activity---is extremely bad for your health. If it's not possible to get up and walk around, just standing up and stretching is helpful. At first, it can be hard to remember to take sitting breaks. Using natural stopping cues such as commercials or the end of a TV show can help, as does setting an alarm or using a reminder to move app on your phone or activity tracker. Over time, you'll likely find yourself getting up automatically without any reminder. It will become a habit.
2. Look for opportunities to add more movement into your day. These opportunities may be sporadic and not part of your daily routine, but they happen with a frequency and regularity that makes them something you can count on and use to your advantage.
If a colleague emails you about an issue, why not respond by going to talk to them in person? Most phone calls can be taken while walking around. You can also get in a few stretches or steps while waiting for the coffee maker or microwave. Need to pick something up from the second floor? Take the stairs and not the elevator. Grocery stores and other shops almost always have plenty of parking for people willing to walk a minute or two. Be one of those people.
2. Look for opportunities to add more movement into your day. These opportunities may be sporadic and not part of your daily routine, but they happen with a frequency and regularity that makes them something you can count on and use to your advantage.
If a colleague emails you about an issue, why not respond by going to talk to them in person? Most phone calls can be taken while walking around. You can also get in a few stretches or steps while waiting for the coffee maker or microwave. Need to pick something up from the second floor? Take the stairs and not the elevator. Grocery stores and other shops almost always have plenty of parking for people willing to walk a minute or two. Be one of those people.
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Dr. Mike Evans wants us all to "Make Our Day Harder". On the surface, "Make Our Day Harder" sounds like the worst marketing campaign ever. Who wants to make their day harder? Yet the weight of medical evidence backs him up: these small steps have a disproportionately big impact on our health. It’s hard to live with chronic pain. It's hard to carry excess weight. It’s tough to manage diabetes and heart disease. By making your day just a little harder, you may indeed be making your life a lot easier in the long run. |
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3. Pick an activity you enjoy and do it every day for at least 22 minutes. There are lots of possibilities: go for a lunchtime walk or an evening stroll, bike ride with a friend, play some golf or tennis, putter in your garden, do some landscaping, go for a swim, take your dog for frequent walks, or go dancing with your partner or friends. If you enjoy going to the gym, that’s great! But you don’t have to exercise at the gym – any activity that will have you up and moving around for at least 22 minutes every day benefits your health. Why 22 minutes? Because being active for at least 22 minutes a day ensures you meet the public health recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. Yes, more movement is even better, but 22 minutes a day is all it takes to meet this recommended guideline. And those 22 minutes don’t have to be all at once. Start with 5 or 10 minutes if you need to. Start where you are, do what you can, and go from there. Think of it this way: 22 minutes is just 1% of your day. But it's the 1% that will make the other 99% of your day much better! |
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