It’s difficult to stay active in the modern world, where almost everything seems designed to encourage you to sit down for hours on end. But whether you sit down all day for work or find yourself on the couch watching TV or playing on your phone once you get home, this is a habit that can have a major impact on your health.
Staying active is absolutely essential for your health in the long and short term. In fact, inactivity is one of the biggest threats to health in the modern world and is linked to everything from obesity to heart disease. If you’re struggling to increase your activity levels, then here are some tips to make it easier.
Before you start planning your workouts, you need to know how much is enough. It’s recommended that adults do 1 hour and 15 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity a week or 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity. This is basically the minimum requirement.
Children on the other hand should do at least an hour of physical activity daily.
Everyone is busy these days, and it can be hard to stay active when you have so much else to do. But the benefits of being active are clear. Staying active will:
As you can see, moving your body can keep you healthy and improve your overall quality of life. Now, let’s take a look at some ways to be more active in your daily life.
If you’re like most people, then your busy lifestyle gets in the way of your efforts to stay active. That’s why being active will look different for everyone. Here are some ideas to make activity fit into your lifestyle:
If you don’t have time to schedule an hour at the gym, instead you can use everyday movements as a sort of continuous workout. Here are some ideas to help with that:
Chances are that there are some boring tasks in your life that you can liven up with a quick workout. Here are some suggestions:
Your exercise schedule has to work for you. This is a time to listen to your own body and your own schedule and get organized in a way that works for you. Here are some tips that may help with that:
If you don’t like the exercises you do, you’ll be more likely to skip it or quit it. So, look for a form of exercise that you like to do. Consider what motivates you, like being outdoors, doing a hobby, being with friends, or doing something that lets you spend some time alone. Then try to work that into your exercise activities.
The motivation to exercise can be hard to find, but you’ll still need something to get you out of bed to go for that run or walk. So, set goals that are meaningful and important to you, and then track your progress towards those goals.
Many people find it easier to work out at the gym because you’re surrounded by people who can help and who are on the same path. It's also a great way to take classes or make exercise more social. So, join a gym if you’re struggling and need some extra help and motivation.
When you have a dog or a cat, you’ll need to groom it, walk it, and play with it, which means that your daily activity levels will naturally increase. However, remember that a pet is a 10–15-year commitment, so make sure your lifestyle suits this commitment.
It’s easy to get stuck in the same rhythm of working, going home, and sitting on the sofa. Instead, change it up with a holiday or weekend trip away. Or go visit some of the tourist destinations in your local area. This will encourage you to see and do more things.
An active hobby like yoga, dancing, or hiking is a good way to get more exercise while enjoying yourself and making friends.
Your efforts to stay active may be very important in your recovery from Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS). AFS is caused by chronic stress, which can be caused by a variety of causes including a poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle.
When you’re healthy, stress is resolved by the NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) stress response. The NEM stress response causes the release of cortisol from the adrenal glands. This cortisol then causes changes throughout your body which help you survive stressors, such as increasing your heart rate and blood flow so you can better run away or fight an attacker. But when the NEM stress response is active over a long period, cortisol levels remain high for too long. This causes the adrenals to fatigue and start to malfunction. The changes brought about by the high cortisol levels also continue, which makes the NEM circuits, six sets of related organ systems, malfunction as well.
One of the keys to AFS recovery is to remove the causes of stress. For many people, this will mean adopting a healthier lifestyle, which will usually include exercise. However, suddenly becoming active when you have AFS and have been inactive for a long time can cause additional stress, which may worsen your adrenal fatigue. So the key here is to avoid overexercising, while maintaining some gentle activity levels.
The Bioenergetics circuit includes the pancreas, thyroid, and liver and supplies every cell in your body with energy. When you have AFS, these processes that supply energy to the cells can start to become dysfunctional.
The liver, which is partially responsible for the release of glucose when your blood sugar levels are low, becomes overloaded with the toxins it has to eliminate. Its processes then slow down, leading to blood sugar issues and other health problems. The pancreas can malfunction as well. The pancreas has a pivotal role in digestion and insulin control, so both of these will be affected. And finally, the thyroid can also decline in health due to the interconnected nature of the components of the Bioenergetics circuit. This will affect the level of essential hormones, including T3 and T4.
The end result of Bioenergetics circuit dysfunction is often very low energy as well as health conditions like diabetes, sleeping disorders, and hypoglycemia. These have a very deleterious effect on overall health.
Making the effort to stay active may help prevent this level of decline, as it will help with blood sugar and weight control, boost your energy and mood, and help you sleep. However, if you have AFS, suddenly doing exercise may overwhelm your body, resulting in additional stress and fatigue and even an adrenal crash. That’s why it’s vital that you make changes with the help of a doctor who is aware of AFS when trying to do more physical activity.
If you want to stay active, then you can’t just leave it to chance. Taking steps to plan activities in your busy schedule and making it a habit can help turn things around. If you’re struggling to be more active in your daily life, then start with:
For more tips on building a healthy lifestyle, talk to our team at +1 (626) 571-1234 or click here.
If you want to stay active, then you can’t leave it to chance. This isn’t something you can do once a week and forget. Instead, you need to make movement a part of your regular daily life if you want to enjoy the benefits of it. Developing habits and hobbies that involve movement can help.
