Living a sedentary lifestyle isn’t healthy, but for many people, it’s routine. For example, people who work from home or in an office tend to work on a computer all day long.
When there’s nobody telling you to go to lunch or take a ten-minute break, time slips by fast and it could be hours before you get up and move your body.
In addition to working at a computer, there are many other reasons people might be sedentary, like being disabled or depressed. Regardless of the reason you live a sedentary life, there are things you can do to live as healthy as possible.
Which actions you can take will depend on your individual circumstances, but here are some ideas.
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1. Don’t Wait To Get Health Issues Checked Out
If you’re feeling under the weather or are in pain and your symptoms aren’t going away on their own, get checked out by a doctor. Sitting for prolonged periods of time can cause musculoskeletal injuries that can be quite painful.
Bad posture contributes greatly to these injuries, and so does extensive typing. If you have carpal tunnel, for example, you can get a wrist brace and a wrist pad for your desk. There are also vertical mice that take the pressure off your wrist.
In addition to issues like carpal tunnel and a painful back, if you’re feeling sick but know you haven’t spent much time around people because you’ve been working too much, go see a doctor right away, especially if you think your symptoms might be something like mesothelioma, for example.
Maybe you worked as an auto mechanic in the past, or you insulated buildings decades ago, and now you’re working a desk job. You could have been exposed to asbestos in your earlier career and only now be feeling the effects.
The most common symptoms of mesothelioma include:
- Persistent coughing
- Fluid build-up in the lungs or abdomen
- Painful breathing
- Chest pains
- And more
Sometimes these symptoms mimic pneumonia, so if you know you’ve been exposed to asbestos, see a specialist right away.
2. Eat As Healthy As Possible
Both diet and exercise are important for your health, but if you can’t exercise, at least try to eat healthy meals because they will still make a difference. If you eat meat, go for meat from local farms that use organic feed and no added hormones.
Eat fresh fruits and vegetables, preferably organic, and avoid packaged and frozen foods. Even canned foods should be avoided when possible because they usually contain a lot of sodium.
There are some exceptions, and it depends on the food. For example, some organic canned soups with low sodium and no additives are much healthier than other brands. However, if you can make your meals from scratch, you’ll be in a better position.
Fueling your body with good nutrition is the foundation of health, and if you struggle to get exercise into your day, eating healthy will be a huge improvement.
3. Walk As Much As Possible
Where exercise is concerned, every tiny bit you get helps.
It doesn’t matter if all you can do is walk around the block once a day, or wander around the courtyard of your workplace on your lunch break. Take time daily to move your body.
Get fresh oxygen pumping through your blood and raise your heart rate a little bit to keep yourself in good health.
4. Do A Little Strength Training
If you avoid working out because you can’t or don’t want to go to the gym, you actually don’t have to leave your house. All you need are some bands or a couple of dumbbells to use at home.
You don’t have to jump into a crazy workout to benefit. Do what you can and work up to a full-fledged workout.
5. Cut Out Refined Sugar
If even a little bit of sugar makes you gain weight fast, it seems unfair that there are people who aren’t affected. Most of the time, those people have a fast metabolism or they are very active.
If you’re sedentary, cutting out sugar is one of the best things you can do to get and stay healthy. It will help you maintain your weight, and you’ll be less likely to develop diabetes and heart disease.
You don’t have to cut out all forms of sugar, but at least eliminate refined sugar from your diet. Refined sugar is anything added to food. In contrast, an apple contains natural sugar.
Sedentary Lifestyle – Every Effort Counts
Every effort you make to be healthy will make a difference, so don’t hesitate to start. You can get healthy even with a sedentary lifestyle.
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If you are interested in even more lifestyle-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.
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