8 Everyday Habits That Help You Stay Active
Upending sedentary habits in favor of more active ones yields some impressive results. People who move more tend to have lower body weight and a lower risk of medical conditions like cardiovascular disease and arthritis. They also may experience an elevated mood and better energy levels.
With the increasing pressure in studies and at office, people tend to spend a great amount of time sitting — on desks or couches. Even if they do have time, they are too tired to do anything. That can be harmful to their health.
Research has shown that too much sitting can have many negative effects on one’s body and life. It’s not necessary to go to the gym or do hours of physical exercise for an active lifestyle. Just a few minor changes in your daily routine can help you in maintaining an active lifestyle and reducing lethargies.
Daily Habits to Stay Active
Some or any kind of physical activity is necessary for health. An active lifestyle can help in lowering the risk of medical conditions such as diabetes, arthritis and heart disease. On that note, here’s a look at some of the daily habits you can incorporate to stay active:
1. Start Your Day with Stretching
You do not have to wake an hour early to do a cardio workout or yoga. Simply start your day with 10–15 minutes of stretching. That will help in improving your circulation and muscles, seeting you towards a more active and less stressful day.
Stretching for a few minutes a day can also help in boosting your body’s flexibility, reducing anxiety and lowering physical pain. After stretching, you will certainly feel more refreshed and energetic.
2. Get Up During Commercials
Ever since the invention of the television, it has always been good advice to get up and move during commercial breaks. But now that many of us have access to streaming services for entertainment, we may not encounter commercials like we used to.
If you watch TV shows or movies without built-in breaks, make a habit of getting up in between each episode. Take a quick stretch, try a round of jumping jacks, or walk to the mailbox and back. A brief activity break may not be an actual workout, but it will get your heart pumping more than staying totally sedentary.
3. Keep Up With Housework
Housecleaning offers the one-two punch of creating a refreshed space and working your body. A bit of vigorous dish cleaning after dinner (perhaps instead of using the dishwasher), a weekend laundry spree, or squeegeeing the windows all work your muscles and elevate your heart rate.
A 150-pound person could burn an impressive number of calories from a full hour of cleaning. Plus, there are a number of mental health benefits that come from having a clean home like a reduction in anxiety, depression, and negative mood.
4. Move to the Music
When a song has a great groove, you just cannot keep yourself from moving to it. It is no wonder that research shows that music has amazing effects on physical activity. It distracts us from pain and fatigue and boosts endurance. The right tunes can even make exercise feel like less of an effort!
It is a smart habit to listen to a favorite playlist while working out. But even putting on upbeat music around the house could get you up and moving more.
5. Move at a Consistent Time
Research shows that about 40% of our daily activities are driven by habit. One crucial factor behind habit creation, of course, is performing activities at the same time each day.
Just like you may be used to eating lunch around noon or dinner at 6 p.m., perhaps you could set a consistent time for physical activity. Knowing that your daily walk, jog, or swim will take place after work or every Saturday morning helps ingrain it as a habit, rather than a one-off experience.
6. Yoga
You can also start your day with some of the yoga poses to stay active. It has numerous benefits and will not require much of your time. Yoga will work on both your body and mind.
It will help in relieving the stress and starting your day feeling more energised. Yoga will also help in improving the flexibility of the body and strengthening the muscles. As yoga is a low-impact workout, the chances of injury are also considerably low.
7. Take the Long Route
We have all heard the advice to take the stairs or park further away from the grocery store to increase our number of daily steps. While these may seem like trite tips, there really is something to choosing to go the extra mile (or just an extra few feet).
Not only do these choices up your physical activity in small bursts, they create a mindset that added challenge is a good thing. Viewing difficulties in this way could have meaningful trickle-down effect into other areas of life.
8. Motivate Yourself with Entertainment
Most of us have a favourite playlist, podcast or audiobook that we enjoy. So why not use that as motivation for your exercise? Start exercising while listening to something you enjoy.
That would make the whole process of exercising much easier and more fun. It will also provide you with something to look forward to in your exercise routine. You can use music and podcasts as one of the incentives to stay active.
Conclusion
As mentioned above, increasing your physical activity does not necessarily mean starting a gym or playing new sports. By making small changes to your daily habits and lifestyle, you can stay active. That will put you on a better path to an active lifestyle and its many benefits.
You can try any of the above suggestions or create any of your own. However, remember that your body needs physical activity for proper functioning. Little or no physical movement will entail different health issues and lethargy. So start making suitable changes, no matter how small they might be, and reap the benefits.
