People are becoming more sedentary than they have ever been. Here’s how a sedentary lifestyle can harm your health, as well as some tips on how to enhance your abilities and desire to be more active.
I hate to say it, Guest Posting, but people are getting more sedentary than ever.
Far too many of us spend our days at a desk, glued to a computer screen, and by the time we come home from work, the last thing we want to do is exercise.
This creates a vicious loop in which our work leads us to suffer from things like pain, a lack of motivation, and a lack of energy, but we don’t want to do anything about it because the way we work makes us feel that way.
However, having a better understanding of the body and how our actions influence it can help put things into perspective. And, thankfully, there are some simple strategies to improve our moods and make us more willing to adopt an active lifestyle.
So, in this essay, I’ll talk about how a sedentary lifestyle can harm your health and provide some tips on how to enhance your abilities and desire to be more active.
How a Sedentary Lifestyle Can Be Harmful to Your Health
“To be honest, I dislike walking!”
Do you think that’s something you’d say?
If it does, know that you are not alone; this is one of the most common complaints I receive from my clients!
When I’m looking at the comparison blood cell analysis results with my customers and notice an imbalance in the lymphatic system, I’ll ask, “How active are you?”
To cut a long story short, after discussing their daily activity levels, several of them tell me that they can’t bear walking and aren’t fans of being active.
They usually aren’t against being active for no reason, and their aversion may be traced back to a health issue, whether it’s pain, a lack of energy, or something else.
Without a doubt, one of the most prevalent issues we confront in our lives is our inability to stay active.
Unfortunately, most of us lead sedentary lives, spending the majority of our days sitting at desks in front of computers and commuting long distances to and from work.
This can cause fatigue and a lack of motivation, and all of these factors influence how well our lymphatic system functions.
So, when I get responses like these, it drives me to provide an approach that can help.
I’ll get to that in a moment, but first, let’s look at the lymphatic system and how it contributes to how many of us feel stiff, sore, achy, and exhausted.
The lymphatic system consists of
It serves as a drainage device.
aids in the removal of toxins from the body
is a component of the circulatory system.
empties into the veins that go to the heart
It only flows in one direction (towards the neck region).
produces antibodies and white blood cells that aid in the fight against infection.
provides hormones, proteins, lipids, and lymphocytes to all of your body’s cells.
The most intriguing aspect of the lymphatic system to me is that if your muscles aren’t moving, your lymphatic system isn’t either!
In contrast to the vascular system, which is pumped by the pounding of your heart and moves downhill, the lymphatic system moves upward only when you move.
So, when you get more active, your lymphatic system becomes more active, which can assist in relieving pain by transporting toxins out of your tissue spaces.
This explains why maintaining physical activity is so vital for joint mobility!
How Your Gait Affects Your Health
If you dislike walking or other forms of physical activity due to factors such as a lack of energy, poor coordination, or pain, you can improve your condition by working on your gait.
But how do you walk?
The term “gait” is defined as “a style of walking” by the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary.
To elaborate, your gait is what allows you to coordinate bodily movement when walking, and by working on it, you can enjoy a more enjoyable, effortless, and free-flowing walk.
“Human gait depends on a complex interplay of main elements of the neurological, musculoskeletal, and cardiorespiratory systems,” according to clinical guidance on gait disorders published in The Central European Journal of Medicine.
According to this guide, an individual’s gait pattern is determined by a variety of characteristics, including age, mood, personality, and social factors.
It also mentions that the speed at which older people prefer to walk can be used to predict their overall health and chances of survival.
Furthermore, it states that in order to walk safely, an individual’s intellect must be intact, and they must have “executive control,” which implies they can engage in goal-directed behavior that necessitates the ability to carry out.
More importantly, it notes that gait-related issues are associated with falls, accidents, and a “loss of personal independence,” all of which can contribute to a major decrease in quality of life.
According to Physiopedia, a person’s walking style can be utilized as “an essential aspect of the diagnosis of many neurologic illnesses,” as well as to measure patients’ progress throughout rehabilitation and recovery from a variety of injuries and conditions.
How to Awaken Your Gait Reflexes
Your gait reflexes reside on the top of your foot, where your toes meet the rest of your foot.
Stimulating these reflexes can be extremely advantageous, particularly for those of us who dislike being active.
To stimulate the gait reflexes, massage the areas between the tendons on the top of the foot and the side of the big toe forcefully.
This can be accomplished by bracing beneath the foot and rubbing the tendons on the side and top of the foot. If your foot is painful, release pressure and then work within your pain tolerance to make it more comfortable.
There are various situations in which you may want to stimulate your gait reflexes. For example, it is not a bad idea to do this before or during exercise.
It’s also a good idea to activate your gait reflexes if you have:
You are experiencing a lack of energy.
You are not as awake as you would like to be.
You find yourself tripping over minor details.
You are not enthusiastic about movement.
You’ve decided to change the course of your life.
You don’t feel like you have much pep in your step.
Do you want to learn more about techniques like this one? Sign up for my Touch for Health workshops if you want to learn more. Massage, acupressure, and other methods for reducing stress and aches and pains are covered in these classes. Classes begin at the end of May, so reserve your position soon!
Regarding your health,
Plumb, Christine
