More people than ever these days are working at a desk. Whether laboring from home or commuting to an office, many Americans are spending the majority of their day sitting down.
One could rightfully assert that this is a symptom of the success of the human species.
We’ve tamed our surroundings, to a degree, and made the world work for us. Technological advances have allowed humans the luxury of taking it easy. We aren’t constantly searching for new ways to survive.
But these luxuries come with a cost.
A sedentary lifestyle can lead to obesity, diabetes, and can even encourage cancer cell proliferation. That’s not to mention the mental health consequences that can result from being inactive.
Dr. James Levine of the Mayo Clinic-Arizona State University Obesity Solutions Initiative has stated, “Sitting is the new smoking.”
He makes this claim based on data confirming that simply living a primarily stationary life is causing all kinds of negative health symptoms in people globally.
The good news is that you can easily combat the negative effects of sedentary life by engaging in a minimal amount of activity each day. Just fifteen minutes of exercise a day can make a significant impact on your overall health.
Studies have shown that even walking around for two minutes every hour can improve your health.
The myth that a workout needs to be difficult keeps too many people from experiencing the benefits of low-impact exercise. Weight control, flexibility, improved mental health, and reduction of injuries are all things low-impact exercise can contribute to.
Low-impact exercise can burn a lot of calories. Doing the breaststroke for an hour in the pool burns just as many calories as running six miles in an hour. The difference is getting in the pool for an hour is much easier than forcing yourself to run for an hour straight.
But you don’t need to work out for an hour either.
Taking just a few minutes a day to do simple exercises increases your flexibility. This in turn can reduce muscle stiffness, increase your range of motion, and improve your posture.
Increased flexibility reduces the chance of sustaining injuries. As we age, we can start to notice feeling sore in areas that don’t have any reason to be acting up. Sometimes you simply wake up and it feels like you pulled a muscle while sleeping. Being more flexible prevents this from occurring.
Participating in minimal exercise every day also gives you more energy. After doing simple exercises for a few days, you feel more energized and ready to take on the challenges of the day.
Being active every day will improve your mood as well. Simple exercises can reduce inflammation in the body and release chemicals that promote new blood-vessel growth, improving overall brain function and reducing stress. It also releases endorphins in the brain that make you feel good.
On top of that, successfully sticking to a simple exercise regimen boosts your confidence, which can lower symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Getting minimally active will make simple tasks, like crossing a street in a hurry, much easier than they may be while living a sedentary lifestyle. Walking up a flight of stairs shouldn’t be the chore it is for some of us, and engaging in simple exercise every day can transform a challenge such as that into the fairly straightforward task it truly is.
Too often people will allow simple excuses to keep them from beginning their journey towards a healthier lifestyle. They don’t have a yoga mat, or they don’t have the time; anything to make it seem like putting in the effort isn’t possible.
You don’t have to start doing a half hour of yoga right away (and, although they’re nice to have, you don’t need a mat either). If you take on too much all at once, you’re more likely to give it up altogether before long.
Take small steps at first and do what you can do. Start with two minutes of walking around the house each day. Then make it five minutes. Maybe after that, you start doing five minutes of stretching as well. Build on your success.
Go at your own pace but commit to doing something. Just a few minutes of exercise a day will produce noticeable results sooner than you think.
Mark Twain once famously stated, “The secret to getting ahead is getting started. The secret to getting started is breaking your complex and overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and starting on the first one.”
What’s the best way to eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
