Simple Strategies to Add More Movement to Your Daily Life

In this day and age in a fast-paced world, hours can pass as you are glued to screens or confined to a desk. The necessity of weaving in movement into our sedentary lifestyles has never been more critical. The reasons for this are multifactorial. It extends beyond the health risks that accompany a sedentary lifestyle. Engaging in movement and physical activity offers a myriad of benefits. This includes improvements to both mental health and physical wellbeing. Despite understanding the perks, many individuals struggles to break free from inactivity. The risks of a sedentary lifestyle are not to be underestimated. Many studies (see below) link prolonged sitting to a variety of chronic conditions. The equation seems simple and straightforward, yet we still struggle. How do we seamlessly integrate movement into a routine that seemingly leave no room for exercise? This article will address easy ways to incorporate move movement into your day so you can reap the benefits of adding physical movement into your daily life.

Take me straight to the tips!

**This is not medical advice. Please consult your medical provider for more information.

Benefits of Increased Movement

Moving during the day is more than just working out. It can involve taking daily walks, going to a yoga class, or standing up every 30 minutes at your desk when working. Enhancing your overall wellbeing can start with the simple act of intentionally moving more during your day.

Increasing your daily movement has profound benefits that can help with not only physical health, but also mental health. Here is a list of some of the benefits of adding more movement to your day:

• Heart health: Physical activity helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. This study shows that replacing sitting with standing can help with decreasing fasting blood glucose levels and decreasing body fat mass.
• Mental health: Exercise and movement can help with stabilizing your mood and decreasing symptoms associated with anxiety and depression.
• Bone density: Weightbearing exercises and lifting weights help improve bone density.
• Sleep health: Physical activity can improve your sleep. Improvements in sleep also help with muscle recovery.
• Cognitive function: Physical exercise has been shown to prevent cognitive decline as we age.

Embracing small changes throughout your day will add up, propelling you towards a lifestyle where adding movement into your day is part of your reality.

Understanding Sedentary Risks

A sedentary lifestyle poses numerous risks to both mental and physical health. Prolonged periods of inactivity increase the risk of chronic conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Inactivity can also exacerbate mental health issues.

Without physical activity, the body’s ability to combat physical and mental health conditions becomes increasingly more difficult. Studies consistently show that a lack of physical activity perpetuates these conditions. By understanding these sedentary lifestyle risks and making intentional efforts towards increasing daily movement, we can mitigate these adverse effects and find our way to a healthier lifestyle.

Exercises for Desk Workers

Sitting at a desk for long stretches of the day can lead to stiffness and exacerbate the risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle. If you find yourself sitting at a desk for work, whether at home or in an office, there are simple things you can do to help increase your daily movement. Here are a few easy activities to weave into your workday:

• Stand up every 30-60 minutes: Break up the monotony of sitting. Set a time and stand, even if you just stand in place for 30 seconds before getting back to work. This study shows that alternating between sitting and standing can reduce blood sugar spikes by up to 11%.
• Desk exercises: You can do simple leg exercises while sitting to keep your blood circulating and your body moving. Try seated heel raises, clams, marching, and knee extensions. You could create your own 5-10 minute routine you do during breaks to help you feel physically and mentally renewed for when you return to the work tasks at hand.
• Use a standing desk: Standing desks are becoming more and more popular for good reason. Having the ability to choose between sitting and standing when working makes it even easier to remember to stand every so often.
• Take a walking lunch break: Getting outside during your lunch break can help with mental clarity and help break up the work day from feeling like you are stuck inside all day long.
• Take a walking meeting: For those who take meetings online or over phone calls, this is a great way to habit stack and become more efficient with your time. This is also a great way to increase your physical activity if you have a very busy work schedule, which is not conducive to taking breaks for a workout.

Integrating these activities can also enhance focus and productivity.

Don’t Forget About Mobility and Stretching

A sedentary lifestyle leads to tight muscles and joints and reduced muscle extensibility. Our muscles get used to being in a shortened position as we don’t utilize the entire range of motion that we have.

Incorporating a daily or weekly stretching routine or “mobility flow” can be helpful. Stretching not only gets us moving and keeps our muscles from getting tight, but it also helps us work through our full range of motion to counterbalance the effects of not moving for long periods of time.

Embracing a stretching or mobility routine can be as long or as short as you want. Find what works for you. You are more likely to stick to something that you are excited about. If short duration mobility exercises performed on a daily basis excite you, then stick with this. If you want one day to spend a solid 30 minutes at home or at a 60 minute yoga stretch class during the week, then great! Stretching is a great way to counteract what sedentary lifestyle do to our bodies (which is make us feel more stiff)!

Tools for Workouts at Home

Workouts are now at our fingertips. In the fast-paced world we live in, workout apps and YouTube videos have revolutionized the way busy individuals can integrate fitness into their daily routines. Better yet, it can help individuals who find it challenging or who are unable to leave their home.

These apps offer quick and effective exercise routines that can be squeezes into the busiest of schedules, without even leaving the comfort of your own home. Everything from stretching and yoga routines to HIIT workouts and guided personalized workouts from online trainers can be found. Whatever you need, you can usually find it on the app store or somewhere online.

Find something that works for you. The convenience of following videos online is extremely helpful and available to lots of people. For those who need a bit more accountability, finding someone online for guidance or to make sure you stay on track will probably be more helpful. Apps often come with features for tracking your progress and setting reminders, making the journey towards improved health and increased movement a more guided and motivating experience.

Adopting Active Commuting

For those who commute to work and are within shorter distances from home to the office, active commuting can be a seamless strategy to weave more movement into your day. While this won’t work for everyone, it can be game changing for those it can work for.

Biking or walking to work not only ignites your metabolism early in the day, but also carves out a moment for you to clear your mind before the hustle and bustle begins. Use this time to listen to a podcast, audiobook, or play your favorite music for an added boost to your mood. You can also choose to do this only on certain days of the week if committing to this every day just seems like too much of a daunting task.

If the distance to your job is too great for biking or walking, think about other ways to incorporate active commuting. You could park further away from your destination or get off a few stops earlier if you’re using public transportation. These simple adjustments to your route can significantly contribute to your physical activity benefits.

Ergonomic Furniture that Encourages Movement

Ergonomic furniture can help to encourage a more active work environment. As described earlier, a standing desk can give you the freedom to alternate between sitting and standing. This can promote circulation and reduce the risk of muscle stiffness or shortening. Also think about alternative solutions to your comfy (or not so comfy) office chairs. Using a swiss ball or wobble stool is an effective way to engage your core and swivel your hips even while working to get through your emails. Making these subtle adjustments might not be much, but your body will thank you. These are simple way to incorporate more muscle engagement without having to take extra time out of your day if you are short on time.

Active Hobbies

Active hobbies are a great way to incorporate more movement into your day. Yoga, dance, and hiking are all potent ways to increase daily movement, strengthen your body, and brighten your mood. Something as simple as a quick dance session while you are making dinner counts! Be creative and let it be fun.

Yoga and dance are also great ways to incorporate stretch routines to focus on movement and flexibility. There are also other options, such as chair yoga, if traditional yoga is too aggressive or if you are nursing an injury or struggle with balance. Incorporating active hobbies can also foster meaningful social interaction, which can be helpful towards you reaching your movement goals.

Fostering Accountability in Fitness Goals

finding and utilizing accountability partners or groups can significantly influence your motivation for maintaining an active lifestyle. It starts with identifying someone who shares your enthusiasm for increasing daily movement. Together, you can help keep each other accountable and even set up daily/weekly workouts or activities to complete together. This makes it easier to stay on track. By setting up regular check-ins, you can celebrate progress together and hold each other accountable when the going gets tough. Committing to these partnerships encourages consistency and converts the daunting task of changing habits into an enjoyable process of mutual growth and health improvement.

Just Start (And Keep it Simple)

When we think about physical activity and movement, starting is often the most challenging part. How many times have we though, “You know, I’m going to start this workout.” Then the time comes and goes and you’re still sitting on the couch watching tv or on your phone. This happens more often then you think.

When it comes to incorporating more movement into your day, start simple. If you change too much and try to create an elaborate new routine, chances are you won’t stick to it.

Start by changing one or two small things. It might be standing during a commercial break when you are watching tv or walking to the mailbox instead of driving your car. Incorporate your new change(s) for a few weeks so you can get used to it. Once it becomes more of a habit, it slowly becomes part of your day to day activities. Then, add something else and repeat the process.

Incorporating small habits also doesn’t mean everything has to stop there. It may lead to you picking up hobbies or activities that involve more physical activity. Maybe your evening walk that was only 5 minutes lasts up to 30 minutes and you take the whole family with you. Maybe standing during commercial breaks on tv turns into you doing an upper body workout as you’re watching tv. Or maybe you push yourself and you begin going to a gym or pick up hiking. The possibilities are endless. Just remember you have to start. And starting simple can always lead to more, if you choose. The trick here is to get to the point where you don’t think about it and it becomes habit.

References

Benedetti MG, Furlini G, Zati A, Letizia Mauro G. The Effectiveness of Physical Exercise on Bone Density in Osteoporotic Patients. Biomed Res Int. 2018;2018:4840531. Published 2018 Dec 23. doi:10.1155/2018/4840531

Mandolesi L, Polverino A, Montuori S, et al. Effects of Physical Exercise on Cognitive Functioning and Wellbeing: Biological and Psychological Benefits. Front Psychol. 2018;9:509. Published 2018 Apr 27. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00509

Saeidifard F, Medina-Inojosa JR, Supervia M, et al. The Effect of Replacing Sitting With Standing on Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Mayo Clin Proc Innov Qual Outcomes. 2020;4(6):611-626. Published 2020 Dec 1. doi:10.1016/j.mayocpiqo.2020.07.017

Thorp AA, Kingwell BA, Sethi P, Hammond L, Owen N, Dunstan DW. Alternating bouts of sitting and standing attenuate postprandial glucose responses [published correction appears in Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2020 Sep 1;52(9):2058-2059. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000002450]. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2014;46(11):2053-2061. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000000337

TL;DR

Integrating more movement into your day combats the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle. Physical movement boosts both mental and physical health significantly. Small, impactful adjustments can foster a more active and healthier lifestyle. Starting is key. Keep it simple. Build from there.