Most of us want to live a long healthy life but we never really make that change to be able to achieve a longer lifespan
A major reason for laziness when it comes to being active is we live in a society where we are always on the run doing something. In other words we live a very fast lifestyle.
It’s easy to make excuses for something we don’t want to do but if it means we are living longer why not?
According to a new study by The Lancet, moving at least five minutes a day could help prevent 10% of deaths.
The study concludes that “in a population where 100,000 individuals die every year, 6,000 of those deaths could be preventable if they did at least 5 minutes of movement each day.”
Many people come up with the excuse that being active for less than 30 minutes won’t benefit them in any way; therefore they just don’t do it and that’s where the problem lies. People fail to realize that time isn’t the main issue, it’s all about consistency.
I’m sure we all can find at least five minutes in our day to get up and take a lap or walk around wherever you are, but we simply don’t because of the lack of awareness we have when it comes to our daily physical activity.
We are so consumed with our daily routines–whether that’s going to school, going to work, etc.–that incorporating physical activity for five minutes won’t throw people’s day off instead they will feel relaxed and refreshed.
Harvard Health shows that the average person is sitting down for about 6-9 hours a day, now that is being said without counting the amount of hours you sleep a day which you also are not being active.
Our bodies are designed to do several things, so it’s important we use it to their full potential not just to sit. It’s shown by the Mayo Clinic System that excessive sitting has been linked to many health problems like obesity, back pain, cancer, and depression.
It might not seem like a big problem to many but in reality in the future it does affect many people and if you can avoid these health issues do so now!
If you don’t know when to incorporate these five minutes into your day or don’t know when to start here are some simple things you can do:
- Set a reminder to get up and move at least once every hour
- Use the stairs instead of the elevator
- Park farther away from stores to get a nice walk in and back
- Walk around while taking phone calls
- Do simple task standing up instead of sitting down
I have found that when people find time in their day to be active, they seem to get into a rhythm, and sooner than they know it they feel way healthier. When you feel healthy and look your best, overall your life improves and you’re happier because of a simple five minutes that you take out of your day. So make that change because it doesn’t take a lot and it improves your health significantly!
