Physical Activity Might Save Your Life

A quick google search reveals that, on average, Americans spend around 7 hours a day in front of a screen. People aged 13-28 years old spend more like 9 hours a day. The increase in remote work has added to this already rampant problem. The consequences of this behavior can be far-reaching and likely multi-generational. The effects we will briefly discuss here are some of the obvious health ramifications related to a sedentary lifestyle. The results are sobering and should cause one to pause and self-evaluate. 

Say for a moment you are an average American spending 7 hours per day in front of a screen-this equates to over 100 days over the course of a year. That is a staggering amount of time. Imagine what someone could learn or skill they could acquire in 100 days! A study in England by the British Heart Foundation found that well over 25% of people spend over 6 hours of day being sedentary during leisure time. So, if a person sleeps 8 hours, is sedentary for 6+ hours before or after work and spends some combination of 7 hours looking at a screen and potentially close to 8 hours sitting at a desk, it becomes apparent how few hours might be spent doing physical activity. An article by the American Heart Association found that only 10% of people meet the minimum recommendation for physical activity.

What’s the big deal? The same article by the AHA reports that physical activity reduces all-cause mortality. That’s right, moving more could save your life, or prolong it at least. 50 minutes of daily vigorous physical activity could reduce chances of someone dying by roughly 45%. Even 30 minutes of walking a day could reduce all cause mortality by around 15%. 

If there are so many benefits to moving, including not dying(fountain of youth anyone?), what are some of the barriers keeping more people from being “active?” The lack of time would likely be on that list, unsure of how to exercise, fear one can’t maintain an exercise routine, not enjoying “exercise,” and injury or pain with movement would likely be among the barriers. As a physical therapist it is in my job description to help people learn to enjoy moving their bodies and to be comfortable and confident using their bodies to move through life. Exercise will look very different for one person compared to another, but creating habits around movement is the key to success. 

The AHA suggests 150 minutes/week of moderate intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week. Other groups suggest the ideal dosage is 60 minutes of physical activity daily, but regardless of ideal levels, some is better than none.

I recently discussed this with a patient dealing with knee pain who has been wanting to run a marathon and start lifting weights in his home gym, but was somewhat discouraged by an old injury. He had worked through the injury the best he could, but overall was limited in preparing for a marathon without some help. This is a person who has the desire to move and be healthy, but was partially limited by pain and injury. This is where Mountain Performance PT shines! If this sounds familiar to you and you have been putting off activity because of pain, let this be your wake-up call.  Helping people reach goals is fun, but understanding the life-long benefits of moving is important to consider. So stop reading this blog and go move your body!

Links: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.118.312669