Why You Should Move Throughout The Day, Every Little Bit Helps

Our Bodies Are Meant To Move

How much time do you spend sitting each day? The current lifestyle for the majority of Americans is convenient- we don’t have to go anywhere or move to get anything done. With the pandemic, working remotely and attending workplace meetings by Zoom, meant that most of us didn’t have to walk the few steps to the parking lot or Subway or climb stairs at the workplace. The convenience of our modern lifestyles also means that we can get DoorDash delivery, or Uber Eats delivered to our door. For those that like to cook but don’t have time to grocery shop, a delivery box such as Hello Fresh or Home Chef can get the right ingredients to your doorstep. You can also get necessities like paper towels and toiletries delivered without having to go to any physical store.

While convenience is key to managing our busy lifestyles, it comes at a cost to health. It’s well established that a sedentary lifestyle is pretty bad for us. Our bodies are meant to move. When we sit for prolonged periods of time, our large muscles are not using glucose, the body’s primary energy source. This causes blood sugar levels to rise, triggering insulin release. Insulin is the hormone that regulates blood sugar. Sedentary habits such as sitting on the couch, or in the office, cause our cells to become less receptive to insulin. The resulting insulin resistance promotes inflammation, and the body cannot use the energy and instead stores it as fat.

Movement promotes better health

It is well proven that sitting for long uninterrupted periods of time leaves you more prone to a host of problems, including cardiovascular disease, lung disease, and even Alzheimer’s.

Movement is key to reversing and preventing some of the aging issues everyone faces. This is not speculation, but fact.

Ways To Keep Moving Throughout The Day

There are many ways to incorporate movement into your day. We don’t have to go to a gym to work out for an hour. Any simple way to add exercise into our daily lives, adds up and it counts. So no matter what, don’t give up, and believe that all the minutes of activity do count to keep your muscles and your vital organs such as your heart and lungs working at the optimal level.

Some ways to add movement in your day are:

• Set a reminder on your smartphone, fitness tracker, or just a timer, to remind you to get up from that chair every hour, stretch, walk a few minutes and maybe even do a few squats or lunges in place .
• Put your groceries in smaller bags so you have to make more trips to the car and your kitchen counter.
• Park farther away on purpose so you get more steps while going to the store or the office.
• Climb the stairs in place of taking the elevator.
• Use a standing desk at work. Staying upright in place, rather than slouching in a chair, gives your body the task to keep your muscles working and your spine straight.
• Pace while taking phone calls, don’t sit.
• Stand while folding laundry, don’t sit.
• Drop down to the floor and do 5 yoga poses. Most everyone has time for this, especially if working from home.
• I also ask my patients that complain of no time to work out, “how about a 10-minute brisk walk after lunch and after dinner each day?” Those 20 minutes over 6-7 days, add up to a good amount of steps.

So as we can see, there are no excuses for us, not to work out in a way that is doable.

In a future follow-up blog, we will explore the different kinds of movement more in detail.

As always, we do not give medical advice and before beginning any exercise activity, it’s imperative to check with your physician first.

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