11 Ways to Stop Living the Sedentary Lifestyle

What’s A Sedentary Lifestyle?

To begin with, the sedentary or sedentary lifestyle definition is a behavior where you spend most of your day sitting or lying down, with little to no physical activity. As one can imagine, there are several consequences of living a sedentary lifestyle that can be detrimental to your mental and physical well-being.

A sedentary lifestyle is becoming more and more common in today’s society. Most of us are regularly looking at some type of screen, whether for work, school, or entertainment. Children are growing up with screentime being as common as brushing their teeth- maybe even more so! It can be too easy to get sucked into an inactive lifestyle.

How do you know if you are sedentary- what’s a sedentary lifestyle? We will go over examples of an inactive lifestyle, as well as ways to fix this issue and get on a path to better health. Having little or no physical activity for long periods of time just isn’t a good idea.

what is a sedentary lifestyle

How Do You Know If You Are Sedentary?

Sometimes, it can be hard to know for sure if you are living a completely inactive lifestyle. In fact, maybe you just have some less active days now and again.

Sedentary Lifestyle Examples:

  • Sitting at a desk all-day
  • Driving in a vehicle for several hours each day
  • Lying in bed for several hours
  • Sleeping most of your life
  • Watching television or gaming several hours each day
  • Sitting in a classroom all-day

The consequences of the lack of physical activity can be hard on your mental and physical state. If you spend most of your time sitting or lying down, it can lead to a host of issues. Issues include high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, higher risks of certain cancers, anxiety, and so much more. These are several reasons why it is bad to be sedentary for long periods of time.

11 Ways to Fix a Sedentary Lifestyle

If you are living an inactive lifestyle most days, it’s not too late to turn things around and utilize sedentary lifestyle solutions. Let’s look at 11 ways to fix an inactive lifestyle.

  • Walking Breaks If you are stuck working at a desk all day long, take a break every couple of hours and have a quick 15-20 minute walk. Even longer if you’re able and have the time. It will work wonders for your mind and body, leaving you refreshed and ready to tackle your tasks. Also, the same thing goes if you drive a lot, take breaks and get out and walk around regularly.
  • Do all of your household chores It may be the last thing you want to do after working all day long, but doing your household chores will get you moving. Plus, you’ll have a cleaner home!
  • Start an Exercise Routine You don’t have to go crazy and extreme. Start small, maybe daily walks then add in some weight training. Here is a great program that offers a large variety of at-home workouts, from weight lifting and cardio to boxing and yoga. Exercise has so many benefits for you.
  • Stand Up This is an easy one. Instead of sitting while working or watching television, stand up! You don’t have to stand all day long of course, but standing at least a few minutes every hour will help.
  • Music When it’s break time, play your favorite music that will motivate you to get moving.
  • Get an Activity Tracker From Fitbit to AppleWatch and everything in between, fitness trackers are easy to come by these days. Get you an activity tracker that will help you track your movement and encourage you to keep going.
  • Mobile App Join a fun mobile app such as Pokemon Go or Geocaching. Apps like these make it fun to get out and get walking- who knows what treasures you will find?!
  • Head Outside Instead of sitting inside all day at home, go outside! Just getting fresh air and some Vitamin D will do the body good.
  • Walk Instead Anytime that you have the option to walk; whether stairs vs. elevator or close vs. far parking spot, walk instead!
  • Stretching Taking the time to stretch out your body a few times throughout the day. This will help you to be less sedentary and it’s great for your body.
  • Get a Buddy Have a friend, spouse, or coworker be your encouragement and motivation buddy. Check-in with them and have them check in with you regularly to stick to your goals. Also, your buddy can even be your pet dog if you’re at home most time. He/she will remind you to go on walks and to play regularly.

Overcoming Sedentary Lifestyle

It doesn’t matter if your goal is to become more active to lose weight or just to move around more. At the end of the day, you will only benefit from overcoming an inactive lifestyle. As a result, your mind, body, and soul will benefit from the newfound exercise and extra movements.

Despite your current physical state, you can always try to do better and improve. If you feel that you have lived a sedentary lifestyle for too long and won’t be able to overcome it, don’t fret. With a sound plan and using some of the above examples, you can start living a more active lifestyle at any time.

Initially, it may seem a bit harder to live less sedentary these days considering most of our lives revolve around sitting in front of screens. In brief, it’s never too late to overcome a sedentary or inactive lifestyle. Set your goals, (start small), and go out and start crushing them. The mind is a very powerful thing, if you believe in yourself and want to do it, you can do it.

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