Benefits of movement

As a society we’ve become sedentary. That’s not to say we’ve become lazy as a society, but technological changes, the explosion of corporate careers and advancements in manufacturing have created a shift towards desk work and less physical careers for many. A sedentary lifestyle is defined as sitting for more than 7 hours per day.

What we do know though, is that a sedentary lifestyle, combined with a poor diet, is a silent killer. And while we like to congratulate ourselves for exercising 30 – 60 minutes each day, that’s not really enough to undue the other 22+ hours we spend sleeping or sitting while at work, reading or watching television.

Things look better for us when we can layer in regular physical activity, or movement with our exercise regime. The more we can move our bodies during the day, the better off we’ll be.

Here are five ideas to increase movement each day:

1.      Put reminders in your work calendar to get up and stretch or move around every hour to 90 minutes.

2.      Take 15 minutes and stretch when you wake up in the morning, and before you go to bed at night. Stretching can also be done throughout the day at your desk, helping to relax your shoulders and realign your posture.

3.      If you work at a desk, try standing or walking while on calls, and make one meeting a day a walking meeting.

4.      After you eat, move around for 10 minutes. This not only helps you add movement but it will fire up your digestive system. Play with dogs, kids, or clean up the post-meal mess right away instead of letting it sit for later.

5.      Have a mid-day dance party! Put your favorite song on, turn it up and dance like no one is watching! I often enjoy a dance break around 2pm, it gets me moving and breaks up the monotony of a work day. If you’re in an office – get everyone moving!

Bringing more movement into your life not only keeps your body happy, it allows the brain to decompress and sort through the information it’s been exposed to prior to your movement break. Keeping yourself moving during the day also helps keep you motivated for your workout; after all, it’s harder to get moving when you’ve been sitting all day.

Exercise vs. Physical Activity

There is a difference between physical activity/movement and exercise. Both are important to your health and wellness.

Physical activity: Daily tasks like mowing the lawn, vacuuming, walking the dog or playing with your kids all fit under the physical activity bucket. These are things that often we do naturally, or are part of our chore list. All daily movement makes a difference in our wellbeing, so it’s important to find things to do each day that you enjoy, and that get you moving.

Exercise: Exercise is a more rigorous and planned type of movement. Exercise often expels more energy than other forms of movement. Exercise is typically more structured, and may target one specific area of the body. Exercise is typically done all at once, one time a day.

The more active we are in our daily lives the better the outlook as we get older. Muscle mass and bone density both begin to decline after the age of 30. We can take steps to stop that, and even reverse it, by staying active.

I’d love to hear from you! What are some of your favorite ways to move your body?

Be well(ness) warriors,
Meg