It’s Monday. You woke up early feeling motivated, got in your 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise, and made a healthy breakfast… all while taking care of your sick baby and sick husband (who’s like a sick baby). That’s fantastic! But if you’re like me, this surge of activity is quickly replaced by sitting in front of a computer all day not realizing that it’s been hours since you last moved your body.
Sedentary behavior like this can be detrimental to your health. It can decrease your metabolism, reduce cardiac output, and insulin sensitivity putting you at risk for weight gain, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and metabolic disorders like type 2 diabetes.¹
I’m not here to scare you. I’m here to try and motivate you, afterall, it is #motivationmonday.
Here are 5 simple ways that you can keep your body moving all day, even while you’re working.
- Don’t be afraid to look like a weirdo. Set a reminder on your phone to get up and move around every 30 minutes. You might just start an office trend.
- Move while you’re meeting. Get up and walk around while you’re taking phone calls. Studies have shown that walking can actually actually improve your brain function and help you think more creatively.²
- Embrace the inconvenient. Craving that soup and salad combo for lunch that’s a 2 minute drive away? Make it a 10 minute walk instead.
- Turn off your mind and move. Go outside and redirect your mind to focus only on your breath at a walking pace that suits you. This is called a walking meditation. Healthy New Albany’s Director of Integrative Wellness, Lori Bower promotes this practice regularly. You can find some more tips on how to do a walking meditation here.
- Enjoy Family time. Go for a quick walk or bike ride with your family after dinner. Movement can aid in digestion and it’s a great time to chat with the ones you love before settling down for the evening.
There are so many other ways that you can keep your body moving each day. Make sure to share your ideas with us too!
- Park, J. H., Moon, J. H., Kim, H. J., Kong, M. H., & Oh, Y. H. (2020, November). Sedentary lifestyle: Overview of updated evidence of potential health risks. Korean journal of family medicine. Retrieved September 27, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7700832/.
2. Hughes, D. C. (2018, January 23). Why walking helps us think: Stanford study finds walking improves creativity. Medium. Retrieved September 27, 2021, from https://devinchughes.medium.com/why-walking-helps-us-think-stanford-study-finds-walking-improves-81ecd5aa61b1.
