You may have heard the phrase, “sitting is the new smoking” and with more of us spending extraordinary hours on the computer during the day and then watching TV at night, we’re all at even more risk of the kind of inactivity that can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol problems, poor sleep and even premature death.
I don’t know about you, but hitting the gym after working for 8 hours is rarely on the top of my list of possibilities. So what little changes can be made to keep ourselves moving?
The Mayo clinic has suggested walking back and forth while talking on the phone or having walk and talk meetings and then sit down to record notes after you’ve done all of the brainstorming. Of course, there is always taking the stairs instead of the elevator whenever possible or parking further away than necessary. The key is to try and get up and walk around every hour, set a timer to remind you if you have to. (Okay I just stood up and walked around the room) How about checking your emails on your phone so you can be mobile. I find that even moving and jiggling my legs while on the computer helps to keep blood flowing.
Changing sedentary habits is hard cause let’s face it, it’s just easier to sit. It seems that the price we could pay for all of this relaxation, facebooking or office work is pretty darn high. So whether you can manage permanent behavioral changes or not, maybe the first step is to be aware of how long you are inactive for and try using “Just keep moving” as your new mantra.
