How to stop sedentary lifestyle: five simple ways

A sedentary lifestyle is not the best friend of our health. Doctors recommend doing at least 150 minutes of physical activity a week. Still, many people, especially office workers, can not find even ten minutes a day for sports.

It negatively affects not only their physical but also their mental state: suffering joints, weakening muscles, appear disturbances of the posture and blood circulation, constant fatigue, and melancholy, and increases the risk of serious diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, etc.

Stopping a sedentary lifestyle is easier than it looks. Here are some effective ways to do it.

1. Take a short exercise routine

If you don’t have the time or energy to join a gym or go for a long run, take a simple 15 to 20-minute exercise session: warm up your muscles, warm up your joints, jump around and do some stretching.

This will help you boost your energy, increase your performance, normalize your blood pressure and speed up your metabolism. You can do exercises at any convenient time: in the morning it will cheer you up, and in the evening, on the contrary, it will relieve stress and fatigue.

2. Remind yourself to exercise

Often while working, people forget about everything but the work itself. They end up sitting in the same position for hours, after which they feel dizzy, unpleasant tingling in their muscles, weakness, neck and lower back pain.

To prevent this from happening, set the alarm on your smartphone, which will periodically remind you to take a break and move around a bit: do some squats, take a walk, run up the stairs, etc.

3. Use any excuse to get up from your chair

If you get an opportunity to do some work without sitting in a chair, be sure to take it. Talk on the phone while standing, go to the water cooler more often to get a drink of water, limit your elevator rides and walk the stairs instead.

If you work remotely, put your laptop up high and work for a while in an upright position. This is great for toning up and improving brain function.

4. Get out for lunch

Try not to eat lunch right at your desk. First, almost every desk at work is a breeding ground for germs that shouldn’t end up in your food, and second, by snacking at work, you’re depriving yourself of the opportunity to rest fully, take your mind off things and get moving.

So leave your workplace for lunch. For example, you can go to a nearby canteen or cafe, or walk to any park and eat in the fresh air (of course, if it is warm outside and the square has clean benches).

5. Walk more often

Walking is a good way to add more physical activity to your life with a minimum of effort and expense. Instead of taking public transportation home after work, walk a few stops, or turn on your favorite music and walk around your neighborhood when you have an hour (or half an hour) to spare.

If you have a dog living at home, walk him longer than usual and play active games outside.