Daily Actions to Improve Your Health

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Most people despise exercise, find it a chore and struggle sticking with it.

Here are 15 simple things you could do everyday that will dramatically improve your health without exercising:

1 – Stand on one leg while brushing your teeth. Balance is critical to reduce the risk of falling.

2 – Lightly tap your arms, legs, hips and torso with your hands for about a minute every day. This will get your blood flowing and improve circulation.

3 – Gently bounce up and down for about a minute every day without leaving the ground. Your fascia and connective tissue respond well to gentle bouncing.

4 – Shake it out –Athletes shake out their arms and legs before a big race or game. It helps to wake up the muscles, tissues and nervous system. The general population can benefit as well by spending a minute or so everyday just shaking it out.

5 – Squeeze it –Randomly contract a muscle for a few seconds and then release. Do this multiple times per day to various muscles throughout the body to help prevent muscle atrophy. You don’t even have to move!

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6 – Motion is Lotion – Whenever you think about it, do arm circles, leg circles, leg swings, shoulder rolls, turn your head side to side and up and down, tap your toes, move your fingers and fidget throughout the day. Studies show that fidgeting can burn significantly more calories throughout the day and keep your joints lubricated and mobile. Fidget while you’re waiting in line, talking on the phone, watching TV, or working on your computer.

7 – Massage it – Give yourself a self-massage on your neck, shoulders, hands, arms, legs, and/or feet. Spend a minute sporadically throughout the day rubbing areas that are tight. That will increase blood flow to the area and improve circulation.

8 – Roll it – Use a lacrosse, tennis or golf ball to roll over tight areas. Even while you’re sitting at your desk, you could be rolling your feet over a golf ball to help keep tissues pliable and improve blood flow.

9 – Walk while on the escalator or moving walkway versus remaining stationary. Even if you are walking or climbing slowly, your body will respond well to the movement versus just standing still.

10 – Get up off the floor once per day unaided. The ability to do this has been linked to longevity so if you don’t do it, you lose it!

11 – Load it – Use a backpack and load it with extra weight. While you are running errands and/or moving throughout the day, a backpack with added weight will load the bones, strengthen muscles, and increase energy expenditure.

12 -Dance – Put on your favorite playlist and dance around your house while dinner is cooking or while you’re doing chores. There’s a saying that states “You don’t get old and stop dancing…you stop dancing and get old.” Dancing keeps you youthful and vibrant!

13 – Set an alarm – Commit to getting up and moving your body at least once every hour. You don’t need to do much. Just change your position and move. Sitting for extended periods of time in the same position is one of the worst things you can do for your health.

14 – Breathe – A simple thing you can do to improve your health is spend at least 1 minute every day focusing on deep breathing. This will evoke the relaxation response, reduce stress, and calm your body and mind.

15 – Shut eye – You’d think this would be an easy one because it doesn’t involve any movement at all, but most people don’t get adequate, high-quality sleep which negatively impacts their overall health. Develop solid bed-time routines that allow you to get 7-8 hours of quality sleep every night.

Yours in health & fitness,
Sherri McMillan