What’s our daily routine like in these times?
It is really important to know what effect our lifestyle has on our body. In an agrarian country like India, the lifestyle our forefathers had is very different from ours today. Most of our forefathers would be up at sunrise and walk to the fields taking in the fresh morning air. They would then continue to work in the fields until it was time to go back home again.
Compared to this, our lifestyle is absolutely sedentary. Work has become more and more abstract, with only our brain having to remain active. Let’s look at what our day consists of!
Commuting to and from work: On average Indians spend 7% of their day commuting to work. Most of us either travel in a vehicle or public transport. A Swedish study has shown that long commutes to work have been directly linked to higher obesity rates, stress, and depression. Denmark has taken action and is undergoing a massive project of building a new fleet of super fast rails throughout its country to cut down on travel time. It also has very picturesque views for all its commuters who opt for a bicycle. We really to step up our game!
Using a computer: The average Indian office worker spends 1700 hours a year in front of a computer screen. At this point, this number isn’t even alarming since it must be a personal struggle. Did you know that “computer-related injuries” is a common term? In addition to the standard back and neck pain, headaches, shoulder, and arm pain are most common. Since there is little to the muscular effort involved, it leads to a lack of blood flow throughout your body. Increased risk of obesity, body fatigue, and eye fatigue is the new common cold of our generation. Little things can help in this regard. Using an elevated stand for your computer to make sure your posture is right, standing and working with your computer on a high stand if necessary, using protective glasses and frequently looking away to focus your eyes on distant objects. Sitting a meter away from your desktop can also have a positive impact on your health!
Food habits: Sitting down for lunch after sitting down during commuting and working is overkill at this point. A study shows that 40% of office goers order food once a day and at least 3 times a week! Another study shows that eating at your desk while you multitask is directly linked to overeating and obesity. Make sure you put some effort into cooking, make it a lifestyle change! Walk around after you eat, or go out walking with your office buddies and get some blood flowing. Work really hard at not sitting down during lunch.
It is really important to constantly be on top of things when it comes to our lifestyle. We have gotten so accustomed to sitting down for a few hours not moving at all! Even though we feel accomplished at the end of the day, we don’t realize how this sedentary lifestyle is harming our bodies. Try making a conscious effort to move around more.
Things to remember:
- An optimal number of steps would be around 7k to 10k.
- 7k steps would come up to around almost 5kms and 10k steps adds upto around 8kms. This is a good amount of activity for an average adult.
- In order to know how active you are and how many calories you’ve burnt you can use an activity tracker. 10k steps burns around 500 calories approximately!
Have an active and healthy week!
