Sedentary lifestyle has become the bane of our times, and now more so because of the pandemic and its related restrictions, including the over-worked work-from-home-set up that lets one with hardly any time to get away from one’s computer, let alone head out for refreshing exercises, agrees Gnana Raju, Wellness Coach and certified Nutrition & Fitness Consultant.
Throwing further light on the topic, Gnana Raju points out that if our body is not healthy and active, it will demonstrate its inner condition through a number of signs. As per the World Health Organisation, an active lifestyle comprises the following: 150–300 minutes of moderate intensity activity or 75–150 minutes of rigorous aerobic activity plus two days of strength training per week.
Given below are seven signs of a sedentary lifestyle. Do you experience one of these?
Fatigue, tiredness and muscle cramps: People who tend to have a passive or inactive lifestyle become fatigued and start to feel tired most of the time. This is essentially because their muscles are not moving and grow weaker with time. Also, the lack of muscle movement and inactive lifestyle can cause a person to experience muscle cramps, muscle breakdown as well as loss of muscles and bone density.
Sleep difficulties and disorders: The sleeping patterns of inactive people tend to become erratic, which results in them not only having difficulty in falling asleep but also experiencing poor quality of sleep when they finally manage to fall asleep. This might, in some cases, even lead to insomnia. Naturally, upon waking up from sleep, these people may not feel rested.
Poor cardiac health: Inactivity can result in poor cardiac health. This is often a result of poor blood circulation and can place an individual at an increased risk of contracting various lifestyle diseases.
Depression: Our body produces a happy hormone called endorphin, which is boosted by physical activities. These hormones are necessary for overall wellness. However, people with sedentary lifestyles tend to produce less of this hormone. As a result, these people become disturbed, withdrawn and do not feel like talking to anyone, which could even be the starting point for depression. This is one of the primary reasons a lot of people went through psychological problems such as depression during the COVID lockdown, when they couldn’t even step out for a walk.
Poor memory: Inactivity can impact cognitive health and poor memory, leading to forgetfulness and other memory-related problems and diseases.
Premature ageing: People with a sedentary lifestyle show physical signs of ageing more quickly than those who follow an active lifestyle.
Heart Problems: A lack of blood circulation resulting from an inactive lifestyle has high chances of causing heart problems in people. Those
leading such lifestyles may start to develop heart strokes, brain strokes, attacks, paralysis, etc.