4 Tips to Live Your Best Life

Maybe you wake up just in time to eat, then go to work and sit all day until it’s time to leave. Or your day is filled with caring for children or adults. You eat dinner, enjoy your favorite show before bed and repeat this pattern week after week.

If this is you, and your health is on the back burner, you’re missing out on a key part of living your best life.

Too much sitting and not enough movement can affect your physical, mental, and social well-being. It increases your risk for chronic conditions like heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and some cancers. And it can cause loss of mobility in your neck, mid-spine, and back, as well as your shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles.

Regular physical activity reduces stress and improves your overall health and well-being. It enhances the mind-body connection and provides many other benefits, including:

Improves energy levels.
Enhancing your mood and reducing episodes of depression and anxiety.
Maintain strength and flexibility.
Helpful in weight control.
Reducing your risk for chronic conditions such as heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.
Reducing joint and soft tissue stiffness and preventing some causes of pain.

Now back to why you’re not getting enough physical activity. With all of life’s commitments, it’s hard to find time for daily exercise. Or perhaps you hate exercise or can’t afford a gym membership. Whatever the reason, if getting in 30 minutes of physical activity a day seems impossible or unpleasant, but you’d like to reap the health benefits these offerings offer, these tips are for you.

Four Ways to Improve Quality of Life

You can get the recommended amount of physical activity by doing things you might not even consider exercising. Doing these in small portions throughout the day can add up to the recommended amount. Regular physical activity can help achieve many health benefits.

Incorporate these healthy habits into your day to feel better, get stronger, and live your best life. Be sure to add them gradually. And gradually increase the intensity or duration over time.

1. Break Up Prolonged Sitting Times With Any Activity

It has been said that “sitting is the new smoking.” Numerous studies have linked long periods of sitting to health concerns such as obesity, heart disease, cancer, cognitive decline, and back pain, not to mention a shorter lifespan. Try these tips to reduce the amount of time you spend sitting:

Set hourly movement reminders on your phone (or fitness app) to stand up, take a short walk around your home or office, and do simple neck, shoulder, and upper back flexibility exercises like this video.
Try a standing desk. Start by standing for 30 minutes or an hour on the first day, then gradually work up to longer periods of standing throughout your day. Use a cushioned mat to avoid leg fatigue.
Keep mobile in your phone conversation. Use phone calls on your mobile phone as an opportunity to walk and talk.
Skip the folding chair and stand or walk during your child’s sports practice.

2. Fit In Short Bouts of Activity Throughout Your Day That Adds Up to 30 Minutes

You don’t have to do 30 minutes of physical activity at a time. Even if you only have five minutes to spare, small activities count towards the 30-minute goal per day. And you can choose to move at times when you might otherwise sit. For example:

Take the stairs instead of the elevator or park further away from shops or offices.
Take a sidewalk while watching your child play.
Exercise standing up while watching TV or during commercial breaks. Try sit-to-stand exercises, side leg lifts, marching in place, squats, or arm curls with elastic tubes or dumbbells or soup cans.
Take a short walk for 5, 10, or 15 minutes at a time, whenever you can fit it in. Make it social by inviting the neighbors
Schedule walking meetings instead of sitting in a conference room.
Walk the dog or play with a frisbee or tennis ball.
Clean your house. If it’s too much to do all at once or you don’t have much time, choose one room to clean every day.
Take up hobbies like gardening or dancing.
Try yoga videos or follow this home strengthening program for 10 minutes at a time.

Even if you don’t reach 30 minutes per day, you can still enjoy measurable health benefits by being more physically active. Better than any activity that gets your heart rate up. 4 Tips to Live Your Best Life

3. Mind Your Strength, Balance, and Flexibility

Maintaining your strength, balance, and flexibility makes it easier for you to work, play and carry out daily activities. It also improves athletic performance and reduces your risk of falls and potential injuries. Try these exercises to improve or maintain your strength, balance, and flexibility:

4. Seek physical therapy early for any movement problems or pain

If you have pain, a chronic condition, or limited movement that keeps you from being active, don’t ignore it. Pain is the body’s way of telling us that there is a problem that needs to be addressed. And movement is essential to maintain quality of life. Physical therapists are licensed, healthcare providers and movement specialists. They can help people with chronic conditions achieve better health through movement. They help people manage pain and reduce the use of prescribed medications.

There are many reasons to see a physical therapist early for pain. A top reason: The sooner you address pain or movement problems, the sooner you can get back to doing what you want to do or want to do, and the less likely they are to get worse or cause new problems. Contact a physical therapist early for a diagnosis of any movement problems and a personalized treatment plan to help you get moving again.

If you have health conditions or pain that limits your activities, or you (or a loved one) have concerns about your balance, a physical therapist can evaluate you and design a treatment program specific to your needs and goals.

Physical therapists are movement specialists who improve the quality of life through hands-on care, patient education, and prescribed movement. You can contact a physical therapist directly for an evaluation. To find a physical therapist in your area, visit Find a PT .4 Tips to Live Your Best Life