I was having a chat with a client the other day and it got me thinking about a couple of studies I had read a while back that I think would interest you all. Before I dive into them, though, I think it's important to highlight something. We are being pushed more and more into one of two working styles:
Working From Home or Driving All Day.
Which in principle is fine. We all have different jobs with different schedules and priorities. However, they both run the risk of leading to the same overall lifestyle:
Sedentary.
We don't NEED to move much at home because all are stuff is in arms reach. And we CAN'T move much when meeting a customer because we're stuck in traffic or stuck in the commute. So we all need to get moving more. Which seems like a daunting task, right? We're so freaking busy all the time how are we ever going to get our 10,000 steps in?
Which reminded me of a couple of studies.
Did you know that even a small increase in your daily step count can be associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality? Not a massive increase. A SMALL increase.
One study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2015, followed over 16,000 middle-aged and older women for an average of 4.3 years. The study found that compared to women who took fewer than 4,000 steps per day, those who took at least 4,000 steps per day had a significantly lower risk of death from any cause during the study period. In fact, the risk of death decreased as the number of steps taken per day increased. Women who took 7,500 steps or more per day had an even lower risk of death compared to those who took 4,000 to 7,499 steps per day.
Another study, published in the British Medical Journal in 2010, analyzed data from six large prospective studies involving over 650,000 adults. The study found that compared to individuals who were inactive, those who engaged in leisure-time physical activity of moderate to vigorous intensity had a significantly lower risk of death from any cause during the follow-up period. The risk of death decreased as the amount of physical activity increased, with the lowest risk observed in individuals who engaged in the highest levels of physical activity.
What's worth noting, however, is that as the level of activity continued to increase, the benefits started to slow down. Meaning that there is a point of negligible returns. But that's fine for all of us. We don't need to be hitting 15,000 or 20,000 steps a day. About 6,000 steps will do just fine.
Even 4,000 will do.
But this is all well and good but, how do we put that into practice if our jobs demand that we sit down all day. Be it at home or in the car.
I'm glad you asked. Here's a couple suggestions that might help with exactly that.
- Take a walk during your lunch break. This can be a great way to clear your mind, boost your energy levels, and get in some extra steps.
- Park further away from your destination. If you're running errands or heading to a meeting, try parking a few blocks away from your destination. This will give you the opportunity to get in some extra steps and also save you the hassle of finding a parking spot.
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator. If you're only going a few floors up, opt for the stairs instead of the elevator. This can be a quick and easy way to get in some extra steps and improve your cardiovascular health.
- Incorporate walking into your daily routine. If you have a phone call or a meeting that doesn't require you to be at your desk, consider walking while you talk. This can be a great way to multitask and fit in some extra steps.
Use your phone, smart watch or pedometer to track your steps. Way easier than trying to manually keep on top of them, and the data can be useful going forward to track when you're the most active. Aim to gradually increase your daily step count until you reach at least 6000 steps per day, or more if you can. Not only will this improve your physical health, but it may also have mental health benefits as well.
Being busy all the time can make taking care of yourself seem incredibly daunting. But I swear, even these small changes will make a big difference to your health, mood and productivity.
And I haven't even touched on the postural benefits. I'll save that for another day.
References:
- Association of Step Volume and Intensity With All-Cause Mortality in Older Women. Journal of the American Medical Association, 2015.
- Leisure-time physical activity of moderate to vigorous intensity and mortality: a large pooled cohort analysis. British Medical Journal, 2010."
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