Do you get along well with your office chair, in which you spend half of each day? You surely do. You may likely spend several hours each day sitting at your workstations or driving to work, especially if you live a corporate lifestyle. If you do, you can unwittingly become a sufferer from a serious issue: a sedentary lifestyle. The good news is there are several Ways to Combat a Sedentary Lifestyle.
One in four of us don’t engage in adequate physical exercise, according to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Numerous health issues, including an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, depression, anxiety, and some forms of cancer, have been linked to prolonged periods of sitting & inactivity, according to research.
Tips To Combat A Sedentary Lifestyle
1. Exercise Daily
Exercise is one of the obvious Ways to Combat a Sedentary Lifestyle. For optimal health, one should exercise for 30 minutes each day, at least five days a week. This can involve moderately intense aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, running, jogging, cycling, or swimming.
Additionally suggested is including weight exercise twice per week. It would be easier to keep a regular workout pattern if you created a program of daily activities & adhered to it religiously.
2. Stand Whenever You Can
Many of the tasks we perform while sitting may be completed while standing. Look for opportunities to go from your seat to your feet whenever feasible. Standing may assist in strengthening your muscles & burn more calories.
Consider switching to a standing desk or choosing a tall table or countertop if, for example, you spend the whole day sitting at a computer. Try standing while you watch TV, take calls, or even fold clothes. To remind yourself to get up roughly every hour, you can use an app or set an alarm.
3. Get Some Walk
Waling is an excellent answer to How to Combat a Sedentary Lifestyle. But don’t only stand up from your seat; get those feet moving as well!
Numerous studies have emphasized the advantages of walking for your health, including decreased stress levels, enhanced immunological function, lowered blood pressure, & a lower chance of heart disease.
There are many ways to add extra steps to your day, whether working, attending school, caring for children, or just lounging around the home. While on the phone or participating in video conversations, try taking a little stroll around the block during your lunch break.
While you’re waiting for the microwave or to finish brushing your teeth, march in place during TV ad breaks. You should park farther away when you pick up the kids from school or go to the grocery store. Despite how little these modifications may seem, all movement counts.
4. Take The Stairs
We seek the elevator as soon as we enter a building with more than two stories. Utilizing stairs is not something that comes to mind because we are so accustomed to taking elevators to go to the first & other floors.
Because everyone is constantly rushing, we think it is a waste of time. Take the stairs instead of the lift if your office building has multiple floors. Effort & calories are expended in great quantities when climbing stairs.
Actually, ascending stairs burns more calories per minute than jogging does. Aside from that, using the stairs will encourage you to be less sedentary & qualifies as physical exercise in and of itself.
5. Change Your Way of Commute
You are usually inactive when traveling to & from work in addition to being sedentary at work. You sit down for the whole of the trip, whether you are driving a car or taking a bus. And all of this only adds to the amount of time you spend sitting down.
Walking or cycling to work are Ways to Combat a Sedentary Lifestyle. Both offer many advantages and are excellent for maintaining one’s health & fitness. They are also advantageous to the environment. They will also help you stay active throughout the day & reduce the tension brought on by idling in traffic.
6. Do Your Chores
Ever find yourself suddenly perspiring after organizing your closet, mopping the floors, or cleaning the bathroom? Housework may be a serious exercise, which is easy to overlook. These chores keep your home neat & tidy while also being physically taxing.
Consider these duties a chance to move more throughout the day rather than a job to put off. For example, cleaning your kitchen counter or doing some sweeping after dinner is a terrific way to add some additional exercise before retiring to the sofa for the evening.
To increase the intensity, you may speed up a little while you sweep or organize the house.
7. Participate in Fitness Challenges
Since employee health is directly tied to productivity levels that cannot be compromised, businesses are now taking employee health into account & adopting various programs to improve the well-being of their personnel.
If you are an employer & you have not yet implemented a fitness challenge, you need to do so right away. Your company’s health & wellness initiatives might include a fitness challenge. It may involve tasks like cycling to work or logging 10,000 steps each day, for example.
Participating in these activities encourages healthy habits & fights the sedentary habits connected to corporate existence.
8. Get A Fitness Tracker
Finally, you need additional motivation to get up off the sofa. In that case, activity trackers like the Apple Watch or Fitbit watch can be an answer to How to Combat a Sedentary Lifestyle & help hold you accountable.
To assist you in meeting your daily activity & standing objectives, several smart watches and pedometers keep track of your daily steps & give notifications & reminders. In order to fight a sedentary lifestyle, they can also assist you in more carefully monitoring your heart rate & other health indicators.
Threats of a Sedentary Lifestyle
The following are the most typical dangers that a sedentary lifestyle presents:
- Obesity.
- Type 2 diabetes.
- Cancer.
- Cardiovascular disease.
- Premature death.
The body’s capacity to manage blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and other bodily functions is hampered by prolonged periods of inactivity & a low metabolism. Data gathered more than 15 years ago also showed that, regardless of physical activity levels, sedentary lifestyles increase the risk of dying young.
This demonstrates the necessity of both increasing activity & reducing the amount of time spent sitting down. To avoid those threats, one must find Ways to Combat a Sedentary Lifestyle.
FAQs
Q: Does a Japanese company indeed encourage Employees to cycle to work?
A: It is true. Japan, one of the pioneer countries, encourages people to use cycles to maintain their health & environment.
Q: My city doesn’t have a cycling lane. What to do?
A: Not all cities have a cycling lane. You can choose walking instead.
Q: After a hard day of work, I don’t have much energy left. How can I keep myself active?
A: You can exercise, walk, or jog in the morning. After coming back, you can swim. Water will freshen you up & swimming will keep you active.
