You don't have to spend hours at the gym or have a vigorous sweat session to improve your mood and reduce depression, according to a new study published in the Journal of Health Psychology. Turns out that simply being up and about throughout the day can be healthier than sitting.
This is great news if you lead a mostly sedentary life – and, if you do, you’re not alone. Sitting down for meals, commuting, working, TV watching, sleeping – this can easily add up to as little as one hour per day off your feet!
“We hope this research helps people realize the important public health message that simply going from doing no physical activity to performing some physical activity can improve their subjective well-being," said Gregory Panza, a graduate student in UConn's Department of Kinesiology and the study's lead author, in a statement.
"What is even more promising for the physically inactive person is that they do not need to exercise vigorously to see these improvements," Panza continued. "Instead, our results indicate you will get the best 'bang for your buck' with light or moderate intensity physical activity."
Try one of these easy ways to add more movement to your day:
- Walk faster. Whether you’re walking to your car or down the grocery isle, make an effort to pick up the pace.
- Take the stairs. You’ve likely heard this advice before and for good reason: Climbing stairs for two minutes, five days a week provides the same calorie burn as a 36-minute walk, according to experts at Reader’s Digest. What’s more, a recent study showed that climbing the stairs can give you a midday boost more so than a cup of coffee.
- Add walking to your lunch menu. Once you finish eating, get up and get going for a brief walk. Most of us don’t take the full 30 to 60 minutes allotted for lunch to eat.
- Dance around your house. While you’re doing the dishes or waiting for dinner to cook, turn up the music and get shaking and shimmying.
- Neaten up daily. Chores like dusting, doing laundry and vacuuming can add up to big activity points.
- Turn TV time into a workout. Use those commercial breaks to get off of the sofa and do some jumping jacks or stretching.
Exercise to Support Your Sobriety
At Complete Harmony, we know that fighting addiction is more than simply giving up drugs and alcohol. It’s about creating a new sober lifestyle that supports your health holistically. Our hybrid addiction recovery program offers exercise planning to strengthen your body during addiction recovery. To learn more, call: 866-930-4673.
