A large chunk of population leading a sedentary lifestyle, is more like a public health issue now. This kind of lifestyle is more widespread in the current times, in several nations, although people are well aware of the fact that sedentary living can be a major cause for various lifestyle diseases.
Sedentary lifestyle involves activities in which very less energy is expended like sitting, reclining or lying down. It can contribute to diseases like obesity, diabetes and some other serious ailments. Sedentary lifestyle is also associated with a greater risk of early death and can lead to depression too.
A longer duration of inactivity can result in lowering the metabolic activity, impairing the ability of the body to control the level of blood sugar, breaking down of fats and regulating the blood pressure.
According to standard health guidelines, adults are recommended to do moderate intensity physical activity of atleast half an hour to 45 minutes daily. This will help people to stay fit and healthy and avert many serious medical conditions in the long run.
Towards avoiding a sedentary lifestyle:
An active lifestyle can reduce the risk of serious health conditions, early death and also lead to sound mental health.
Increased physical activity- According to research data, including sport activities and exercise in the daily routine can lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity and premature death.
Exercise also improves mental health. It is important to include a variety of cardiovascular exercises like cycling, skipping, running, mild weight training exercises in the exercise regimen. Running for 30 minutes and a few weight training sessions would suffice and meet the standard physical activity guidelines.
Reduce the sedentary time spent- Doing a physical activity is important, but it is risky to spend the rest of the day being sedentary.
The time spent sedentary can be reduced by:
- While travelling, stand, rather than sit
- Walk to work
- During the lunch break in office, go for a walk
- While working, setup reminder to standup every half an hour
- Asking for a standing desk at the workplace
- Walking or standing up for sometime during a coffee break
- Spend sometime doing household chores or do some gardening
- Walking while talking over the phone
- Spend free time for physical activity rather than watching TV or playing games
- Get up and walk around during TV advertisement breaks
- Use the stairs instead of the elevator
People can reduce the risk of leading a sedentary lifestyle by making the above mentioned changes in their lifestyle to effectively reduce the time spent being sedentary.
Being busy has some hidden benefits- A person who keeps busy, makes better and healthy choices. This has been proved in recent research.
In our daily lives, we take several decisions that are related to our immediate or the near future. When we think and perceive ourselves to be busy, it serves in boosting our self-esteem, and therefore we can make better choices. But if being busy is coupled with meeting deadlines, it may lead to anxiety and stress. For example, if we have to finish a lot of work in lesser time we may eat food unconsciously which is not so beneficial for our health.
Being busy not spending tie being sedentary is a matter of honour and it impacts the human psyche to a large extent. It also impacts are general health on the whole. On the other hand, lower self-esteem can lead to stress, anxiety, effect relationships or the job or may lead to developing addictions.
But if there is no time constraint attached to being busy, it can result in better mental health and hence a much healthier lifestyle.
Obesity is another major concern which is on an increase due to sedentary lifestyle and can give rise to serious complications in health. Therefore, it is important to maintain a healthy lifestyle which includes regular physical exercise alongwith a nutritious diet.
Image Source: npr.org
