- What to do to stop being sedentary
- 1. Stay less time sitting
- 2. Replace the car or leave it away
- 3. Replace escalators and elevators
- 4. Watch television while standing or on the move
- 5. Practice 30 minutes of physical exercise daily
- What happens in the body when you sit for a long time
Sedentary lifestyle is characterized by the adoption of a lifestyle in which physical exercise is not practiced regularly and in which one sits for a long time, leading to an increased risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. See other health consequences of a sedentary lifestyle.
To get out of a sedentary lifestyle, it is necessary to change some lifestyle habits, even during working hours and, if possible, devote some time to physical exercise.
What to do to stop being sedentary
1. Stay less time sitting
For people who work all day sitting, the ideal is to take breaks throughout the day and take a short walk around the office, go to talk to colleagues instead of exchanging an e-mail, stretching in the middle of the day or when if you go to the bathroom or answer phone calls standing up, for example.
2. Replace the car or leave it away
To reduce sedentary lifestyle, a good and economical option is to replace the car with a bicycle or walk to work or shopping, for example. If this is not possible, you can park the car as far as possible and do the rest of the way on foot.
For those who travel by public transport, a good solution is to travel on foot and get off a few stops earlier than usual and do the rest on foot.
3. Replace escalators and elevators
Whenever possible, one should choose stairs and avoid escalators and elevators. If you want to go to a very high floor, you can do half an elevator and another half stairs for example.
4. Watch television while standing or on the move
Nowadays many people spend hours watching television seated, after having been sitting all day at work. To combat sedentary lifestyle, one tip is to watch television standing up, which leads to the loss of about 1 Kcal per minute more than if you were sitting, or to exercise with your legs and arms, which can be performed sitting or lying.
5. Practice 30 minutes of physical exercise daily
The ideal to get out of a sedentary lifestyle is to practice about half an hour of physical exercise a day, at the gym or outdoors, go for a run or a walk.
The 30 minutes of physical exercise do not need to be followed, it can be done in fractions of 10 minutes for example. This can be achieved by doing household chores, walking the dog, dancing and doing activities that give more pleasure or that are more productive, such as playing with children for example.
What happens in the body when you sit for a long time
Sitting for a long time is harmful to health and can lead to weakening of muscles, decreased metabolism, increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes and increases bad cholesterol. Understand why this happens.
Thus, it is advised that people who sit for a long time will get up at least every 2 hours, to move the body a little and stimulate blood circulation.
