The Negative Impact Of A Sedentary Lifestyle

Dangers of living a sedentary lifestyle

A sedentary lifestyle has become a global epidemic becoming a significant public health issue. Causing both physical and mental health issues. A sedentary lifestyle has been associated with severe health conditions.

Living a sedentary lifestyle increases the chance of anxiety, depression and, chronic stress. It can decrease your motivation causing fatigue and making it difficult to manage anxiety and stress.

Inactivity gives you a higher risk of developing a mental health disorder. It can cause brain fog- a sense of your brain being slow and unable to focus.

A sedentary lifestyle has been linked to the thinning of the temporal lobe in the brain. This part of the brain is crucial in the production of memories.

It Increases the risk of becoming overweight, developing cancer, type 2 diabetes and, heart disease.

Long periods of inactivity reduce your metabolism and weaken the ability of the body to control blood sugar levels and break down fat.

When the metabolism slows, the regulation of your blood sugar is affected. Resulting in an increase in sugar and cholesterol in your bloodstream causing, a higher risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Being inactive causes muscle atrophy and back problems. It can cause the hip flexor muscles to shorten which, leads to hip and joint problems. Weakened back muscles and poor posture can lead to disc degeneration.

People who sit 8 hours or more a day without any physical activity have a relative risk of dying as someone who is obese or is a smoker.

Our bodies were built to move sitting too long causes many physical and mental disorders.

How to make beneficial changes

Make sure you get daily physical activity. It is essential for your mental and physical health. Making small steps in getting physically active can make a huge difference.

Physical activity boosts your moods and decreases anxiety, depression, and chronic stress. Leading a more active lifestyle decreases the chances of chronic health conditions, mental health disorders, and premature death.

Getting more physical activity is crucial but, if you are still spending a lot of time being sedentary, it can still be dangerous. Reduce the amount of time that you are inactive.

It has been recommended that you move for 3 minutes for every 30 minutes that you are sedentary. Set a timer to remember to move every 30 minutes.

Finding ways to move your body is the key to ending a sedentary lifestyle. Choosing an activity that you enjoy doing will help you make long-term progress. Adults should be getting 150 minutes of physical activity a week.

When trying to make changes to an active lifestyle, start slow and set small goals. Making too many changes too fast can be overwhelming and defeat your goals.

Taking action to become more active can have an impact on your body, mind, and spirit. It will increase your motivation and energy.

Tips to increase physical activity

Park further away from your destination

Try taking the stairs instead of the elevator

Use a standing desk at work

Step away from your desk to stretch, squats, sit-ups, lunges

Stand up and walk around when talking on the phone

Schedule walks -walk to work, during lunch breaks, before or after work

Stand instead of sit

Spend more time doing chores at home

Gardening

Spend free time doing something active instead of watching t.v. or video games

Walk around during commercials

Dance

Daily exercise

Sports

Final Thoughts

I’m sure you can think of many more ways to become active in your life. Reducing a sedentary lifestyle can make an improvement to your overall physical and mental health. It can make a boost in your mood and energy levels and help you sleep better at night.