Ready to Shed Those “Pandemic Pounds?” Here Are 5 Simple Hacks to Get Moving More During Lockdown

AHA Publisher — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 07:00:53 +0000

Sara Middleton via NaturalHealth365 – If the dreaded “freshman 15” weight gain is a real issue for young college students, then perhaps “pandemic pounds” is a brand-new concern affecting people of all ages. After all, we know that sitting too much is a serious threat to optimal health and associated with becoming overweight and obese. But, to make matters worse – according to one recent study, the average person is now struggling with an increased level of physical inactivity thanks to the global lockdowns. Pandemic Lockdowns Associated with Significantly Less Daily Physical Activity, According to British Research The study, published in BMJ Neurology, used accelerometers to measure peoples’ daily physical activity before and during lockdowns. These accelerometers measured, tracked, and categorized the study subjects’ movement as either vigorous, moderate, or light activity, or inactivity. Study participants included people who used wheelchairs, a frequently underrepresented demographic in scientific research. The researchers found that lockdowns were associated with a significant reduction in daily levels of light physical activity, which is typically observed during things like work, socializing, leisure, and simply getting up and moving about. Prior to lockdowns, participants performed almost 90 minutes of light activity per day. During lockdowns, their mean time spent doing light activity tanked by nearly 30 minutes — a decline of almost one-third. And the frequency with which participants moved every hour (which was already relatively low to begin with) declined by a median of 11 percent during the lockdown. The British researchers note that decreases in light physical activity can have significant implications on health outcomes for all people, especially people with chronic health conditions like neurological disorders. In addition to obesity, for example, physical inactivity has even been linked to an increased risk of depression, anxiety, cancer, and heart disease, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Inspired by their study, the researchers encouraged individuals to move for 5 minutes every hour, in addition to participating in daily exercise … a nod to the idea that any movement is better than no movement at all. Stuck at Home Because of a Local Lockdown? Here Are 5 Simple Ways to Stay Moving Throughout Your Day Even if you exercise, sitting too much during the rest of your day can be hard on your health. So, in addition to getting in your regular gym session or home workout routine, make sure to avoid sitting too much by implementing these simple strategies: Leave your cell phone in a different room, so when it rings or buzzes you’ll have to get up and walk to go look at it. (Note: do not use this strategy if you’re at risk of falls and your cell phone is your only means of calling for help.) Keep a water bottle with you and drink regularly. Staying hydrated means you’ll be needing the bathroom a lot more … and needing to get up to relieve yourself. Commit to at least one walk per day. Walking outside offers well-documented mental and physical health benefits and is a free and simple way to increase your daily activity. To help the habit stick, try to head out for a walk at the same time every day. If you can, sit on the floor more often. Play with your grandchildren or kids, snuggle with your pets, or simply do some light stretching. Being able to get on and off the ground is a surprisingly important physical skill, especially as we get older. Still trying to socialize while socially distancing? Move around your house or do some light exercises while talking on the phone instead of just sitting in a chair. Hopefully, our message today is very clear. A sedentary lifestyle is bad news for your future health. So, be sure to maintain an active lifestyle … because your efforts will produce great rewards. Sources for this article include: Eurekalert.org Hopkinsmedicine.org To read the original article click here. For more articles from NaturalHealth365 click here.

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Replacing Time Spent Sitting with Sleep or Light Activity May Improve Your Mood

AHA Publisher — Thu, 21 May 2020 07:00:40 +0000

Iowa State University via EurekAlert – AMES, Iowa – Moving more and sitting less was a challenge for many of us, even before states started issuing stay-at-home orders. Despite disruptions to our daily work and exercise routines, there are some subtle changes we can make at home to help improve our mental health. New research, published by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that substituting prolonged sedentary time with sleep was associated with lower stress, better mood and lower body mass index (BMI), and substituting light physical activity was associated with improved mood and lower BMI across the next year. Jacob Meyer, lead author and assistant professor of kinesiology at Iowa State University, says light activity can include walking around your home office while talking on the phone or standing while preparing dinner. “People may not even think about some of these activities as physical activity,” Meyer said. “Light activity is much lower intensity than going to the gym or walking to work, but taking these steps to break up long periods of sitting may have an impact.” Meyer and colleagues used data collected as part of the Energy Balance Study at the University of South Carolina. For 10 days, study participants, ranging in age from 21 to 35, wore an armband that tracked their energy expenditure. Meyer, director of the Wellbeing and Exercise Lab at Iowa State, says the data allowed researchers to objectively measure sleep, physical activity and sedentary time, rather than relying on self-reports. In addition to the benefits of sleep and light physical activity, the researchers found moderate to vigorous activity was associated with lower body fat and BMI. Given the negative health effects of prolonged sedentary time, Meyer says the findings may encourage people to make small changes that are sustainable. “It may be easier for people to change their behavior if they feel it’s doable and doesn’t require a major change,” Meyer said. “Replacing sedentary time with housework or other light activities is something they may be able to do more consistently than going for an hour-long run.” Getting more sleep is another relatively simple change to make. Instead of staying up late watching TV, going to bed earlier and getting up at a consistent time provides multiple benefits and allows your body to recover, Meyer said. Sleeping is also unique in that it is time you’re not engaging in other potentially problematic behaviors, such as eating junk food while sitting in front of a screen. Something We Can Control Making these subtle changes was associated with better current mood, but light physical activity also provided benefits for up to a year, the study found. While the research was conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Meyer says the results are timely given the growing mental health concerns during this time of physical distancing. “With everything happening right now, this is one thing we can control or manage and it has the potential to help our mental health,” Meyer said. As states start to ease stay-at-home restrictions, Meyer is looking at changes in physical activity and sitting time with potentially interesting results for those who regularly worked out prior to the pandemic. Preliminary data from a separate study show a 32% reduction in physical activity. The question he and colleagues hope to answer is how current changes in activity interact with mental health and how our behaviors will continue to change over time. To read the original article click here.

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Ready to Shed Those “Pandemic Pounds?” Here Are 5 Simple Hacks to Get Moving More During Lockdown

Replacing Time Spent Sitting with Sleep or Light Activity May Improve Your Mood