Are you a coach potato? Hate exercising and avoid doing anything active at all costs? It’s time to get off your butt and start moving because one of the most damaging things you can do to your body is doing nothing at all.
Being sedentary can really do a number on you. Physical inactivity contributes to over three million preventable deaths worldwide each year – that’s six per cent of all deaths – and it’s the fourth leading cause of death due to non-communicable diseases. It’s also the second highest cause of cancer in Australia, behind smoking.
Burning fewer calories can affect your metabolism making your weight go up. Muscle strength and endurance deteriorate, and your bones may get weaker as you lose mineral content. Your immune system weakens, blood circulation worsens, and you can become more prone to inflammation. Often your hormones will go out of whack increasing feelings of depression and anxiety.
An inactive lifestyle can also lead to many chronic diseases such as obesity, heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, certain cancers and even osteoporosis. If that’s not a scary enough it also raises your risk of premature death!
The more sedentary you are, the higher your health risks.
So many leisure activities involve sitting. Watching TV or playing games, meals with friends, a beer at the pub or relaxing with a book. As for our working lives, at least half of us spend long days sitting on our butts, whether it’s at a desk, behind the wheel or travelling.
The result – less than a quarter of Australians aged between 18-64 meet the physical activity guidelines and for kids it’s even worse.
There is good news though! All you need to do to combat the health risks of a sedentary lifestyle is to work small bits of exercise and activity into your daily routine.
The recommendation is for at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or activity each week, but that really is a minimum. If you’re sitting at a desk all day long then go home and do 30 minutes of exercise, is that going to make a difference? It’s better than nothing and certainly has been shown to help, but it won’t really compensate for sitting all day long.
To be truly active and get the health benefits, it’s important to be up and about constantly throughout the day. Even if you aren’t sweating or feeling like you’re working hard, you are still moving your arms and legs, stimulating your muscles and working your joints.
Look for opportunities to do extra movement throughout the day. Start slowly and keep adding more gradually.
The majority of people’s leisure time is spent looking at screens so start there. Move while you watch TV. Lift some weights, do some stretches, or get yourself a treadmill or exercise bike. Every time you pick up your phone, pick yourself up. Walk around while you talk or simply stand up when you check your messages or scroll through socials. For maximum results stop looking at cute cats on YouTube and start searching home workout clips that you can do anywhere, anytime.
Walk! Walk your dog, walk the kids to school, walk to the pub, walk to the car, walk on your lunch break, walk in the bush, walk in your neighbourhood. Walking is one of the simplest yet most effective ways to get more active.
Take a minute to just get up and do something as often as you can. Set an alert on your phone for every hour and take a quick walk around or do some jumping jacks or stretches.
There are also plenty of small things you can do when it comes to daily chores and errands. From working your hands and fingers washing dishes instead of popping them in the dishwasher, parking further away from the shops and carrying your bags, to diching the ride on and using a push mower, it all adds up.
There are so many opportunities in your daily life to sneak in a few extra minutes of movement and there is nothing else you could be spending that time on that will bring your mind and body so many benefits.
