You aren’t reading this sitting down, are you? Oh my gosh! You are! Quick! Stand up! In case you haven’t heard, sitting is the new smoking. Yes, just by sitting you are shortening your life! If you don’t believe me, go check for yourself. I’ll wait.
Great! You’re back. And standing, I hope.
I did a Google search and typed in “sitting is the” and the statement was finished with “new smoking” and “new cancer” as two choices. I did not read all the articles because I’d still be staring at my computer reading them. The first nine sources were Huffington Post, Forbes, Runners World, NBC News, LA Times, Time, Wired, CBS News and the Sacramento Bee, all reputable sources.
The solutions to this new hazard to our health is to get a standing desk, or better yet, a standing treadmill desk. Frankly, I’m not sure I can walk on a treadmill, work at a desk, and work on a computer at the same time. Plus, these range in price from $799-$1,800! Yikes!
As a caregiver, we may be spending quite a bit of time sitting. We might be sitting in a car driving to appointments, sitting in waiting rooms and doctor’s offices, or sitting beside someone as we hold their hand and comfort them. We are not always doing something we can do standing up, including working on the computer.
Rather than worrying about how much time we spending sitting and if it is going to kill us, we can make an effort to get more movement into our lives. There are a lot of exercise related resources available. There are YouTube videos, articles on the internet, and DVDs that can be purchased or borrowed from the library.
Have you heard of Go4Life from the National Institute of Aging at NIH? This is a description of Go4Life according to their website , Go4Life, an exercise and physical activity campaign from the National Institute on Aging at NIH, is designed to help you fit exercise and physical activity into your daily life.”
The website includes information on exercise, nutrition and motivation, and demonstrates the exercises. What if you don’t own a computer, but you use one in a library or senior center? It is unlikely that you want to stand up and start exercising in the library! Well, if you click on Get Free Stuff, there are resources you can download and order, all for free.
You can download Tip Sheets on Activities and General Fitness, Health Benefits, Safety, Nutrition, Tracking Tools, and Motivation, plus information in Spanish.
If you prefer something you can hold in your hand, you can order the Workout to Go booklet, Go4Life Everyday Exercises DVD, the 120-page book Exercise & Physical Activity: Your Everyday Guide from the National Institute on Aging, and resources in Spanish. Again, these items are all free, and there is no cost for shipping.
The important thing is to move more, and sit less. Now, stand up and move!
Image credit: Deposit Photos/aletia
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