Tips to Maintain an Active Lifestyle

Tips to Maintain an Active Lifestyle: 

Key Messages on how to be Active

Being active is essential for good health at all ages and stages to keep your mind and body working well. Active is not difficult or expensive and can be very enjoyable.

Being active can increase your mood, keep you at a healthier weight, increase muscle mass, increase the number of brain cells, improve your appearance, and prevent or delay the onset of many diseases.

Why be active

We think of mind and body as separate, but what you do with your body can have a powerful effect on your mental well-being. Evidence shows that regular physical activity can:

• They cause chemical changes in the brain that positively affect our mood.
• Help prevent and reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.
• Help yourself to extend your life by more years.
• Help achieve and uphold a healthy weight and blood pressure.
• Reduce the rate of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and risk of some types of cancer.
• Strengthen your heart, lungs, bones, and muscles for increased energy and strength.
• Help improve sleep quality, add brain cells and create new connections between those cells for life.
• Increase blood flow and oxygenate the brain.

How to Begin

Being active doesn’t mean you have to spend hours in the gym; find physical activities that you enjoy and think about how you can do them every day. Minimize your time sitting or lying down daily to increase your health and well-being. Stay safe and prevent injury during workout by following some common-sense tips.

Do what feels good

Do activities you like with family and friends. Over time, these activities will become more accessible, enjoyable, relaxing, and satisfying. You can also use the links below to find options and group activities.

Make a plan and stick to it

Develop a routine to stay active. Remember that every step counts, and even better when stairs are involved!

How to be More Active

Read about the Australian Physical Activity Guidelines.

Adults aged 19 and older should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, such as brisk walking or cycling.

• Go for a walk or a run.
• Ride a bicycle.
• To play a game.
• Try gardening.
• Get off the tram a few stops early.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.

Move about the office every hour – try to talk to a colleague at their desk rather than sending emails or making phone calls.

Garden work: mowing the lawn, raking leaves, or picking up fallen twigs in the yard.

Walking the dog! Walking Fido is beneficial not only for you but also for your pet!

Swim: appointment your local public swimming pool or municipal recreation center.

Sign up for a yoga class at your local gym; find it in the newspaper or at Neighborhood House.

Tai chi. An ancient form of graceful, gentle measure and stretching.

How to be Active at Work

During your break, go for a quick ten-minute walk around the block.

If possible, take the stairs in its place of the elevator.

Move around the office every hour.

See if your co-workers would be interested in working out together; it can be a walk, a run, a kick, or even a yoga class.

Try to get up and walk as much as possible during the day. It could mean going to someone’s desk and talking to them, standing up when you’re on the phone, or suggesting a walking date.

Set a goal: Write down what, how long, when and where

Set goals is the best way to achieve anything. To Set a goal of how many days a week you want to be active and how many minutes.

I’ve realized that being healthy and active doesn’t just happen. It has to be a priority for me. Without setting goals, I can go workweeks without thinking much about it.

So what is the best way to set a goal? Research shows that writing down a specific purpose drastically increases your chances of achieving it. When writing down your plan, you should specify:

1) What will you do

2) for how long,

3) where it happens,

4) when it will happen.

Staying active has these 3 Excellent Benefits

An active lifestyle can increase your energy, melt away stress, help with weight loss and boost your self-confidence. It’s scientifically proven – check out our page on the excellent benefits of an active lifestyle. Or see a summary list of the main benefits below:

1. Increases your energy levels and mood: One of the most notable benefits of an active lifestyle is feeling more eager and in a improved mood. For example, in one study (1), investigators concluded, “Exercise improves mental health by dropping depression, anxiety, and negative mood, and by improving self-esteem and cognitive function.”
2. Sex improves: studies have found that people have sex more often when they engage in moderate or vigorous physical activity at least once a week.
3. It melts away stress: the truth is that exercise is a great way to melt away stress. First, the release of endorphins helps improve your mood (2, 3). Preserving an active lifestyle is also associated with excellent resistance to stress, anxiety, and depression.

Conclusion

Increase your activity gradually. Start with simple activities such as walking, gardening, or doing small chores around the house. For example, take a short 10-minute walk around the block when you wake up in the morning, at noon, and when you get home from work.