Don’t Just Sit There
By Erika Taylor
How many hours do you sit in a normal day? According to the CDC, if you’re like the average American, the answer is six-and-a-half to eight hours. That might sound shocking, but if you take into account driving, desk work, reading, Netflixing … it adds up.
Even if you are among those at low risk for developing adverse consequences – people who sit less than four hours a day – the CDC says that after just two hours of sitting most people experience musculoskeletal discomfort and a decrease in metabolic activity. Sitting all day can comprise a person’s sleep quality, mental health, hormonal balance, bone density and even creativity.
It sounds pretty scary, but don’t worry.
Even just short bouts of movement sprinkled into your day can mitigate and reverse these effects fairly quickly. Thirty seconds of movement every 20 minutes is what I aim for.
I use the moves in this graphic in no particular order or just move any way I’m inspired to. Be careful to brace that desk chair so it doesn’t roll out from under you!
Whatever feels good! Thirty seconds is plenty. When I’m writing, I set an alarm to move every hour. A two-minute walk around my living room and I’m right back at it, more focused, more comfortable and more creative.
How do you work movement into your day? I’m always looking for new ideas to share so if you have one I hope you’ll let me know. Here’s to moving more, moving better and moving for life.
Erika Taylor is a community wellness instigator at Taylored Fitness, the original online wellness mentoring system. Taylored Fitness believes that everyone can discover small changes in order to make themselves and their communities more vibrant, and that it is only possible to do our best work in the world if we make a daily commitment to our health. Visit facebook.com/erika.taylor.303 or email erika@tayloredfitness.com.