What can we do differently to move more?
When was the last time you moved? And I don't mean just adjusted in your seat. How active do you think you are on a daily basis? A recent study using NHANES (National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey) data from 2003 to 2006 looked at the activity level of people from ages 6 to 84. It was found that the children, ages 6 to 11, were as inactive as older adults who are 60 to 84 years old. While the most active group was young adults who later went more sedentary by age 35.
So it seems, as a country, we are very sedentary which is not a good thing. I know it is often hard to carve time into our day to move, but when you are at work instead of emailing or calling your co-worker down the hall you should get up and go see them face to face. On your breaks take a walk around the building, do some jumping jacks, squats, or something to get your heart rate up a bit. As a family, after dinner go out for a walk taking your younger kids as well as the older kids. If possible, try to walk in green spaces so that you can do a bit of forest bathing for all the health benefits it give us.
My fitness tracker and I broke up about two years ago, but for the over a year and a half that we were partners I moved more than I do now. When I did not have patients I would go for a walk. At the end of the day if I did not have my ten thousand steps then I would march in place as it was often too dark to go outside. I am not ready to start another tracker relationship, but I need to figure out something that is going to get me moving. The movement will be good not only for me but also for my son to see the importance of a daily movement routine. It is very common, and easy, to come home after work and just sit, but we need to change that. We need to change so that movement is a source of relaxation. We all know the health benefits of exercise, and so I encourage you, and myself of course, to make sure we take exercise as important to our lives. Let’s change the above statistics the next time research like this is done.
Source: NDNR.com
Image Kasia (Wikipedia) (CC ASA 2.0)