Time for a screen break
We’ve all spent a lot of time on devices and in front of TVs in lockdown. ANDY BROOKS finds out how to achieve a healthier balance
IF THERE’S been one saving grace during lockdown it has to be our screens. For most of us our televisions, tablets, computers and game consoles have never seen so much use.
And for good reason, they are perfect for entertaining the kids, a God-send when it comes to home schooling and working from home, and pretty much essential when it comes to finding ways to fill your days while you are social distancing.
The problem is, the more time we spend on our screens, the less time we’re likely to be moving and exercising – which isn’t doing our health any good, especially when under ‘normal’ circumstances we are rushing around for a huge part of the day.
So, after three months of near constant screen time – how much is too much?
BALANCE IT OUT!
THERE aren’t any official guidelines to follow when it comes to how much time we should spend on screens. What we do know is that sitting still for long periods of time isn’t good for your health, it can slow your metabolism, affect your posture, underutilise our muscle groups causing them to weaken. It can even affect our social skills.
So, trying to balance how much time we sit still and how much time we are active is a great starting point to make sure you and your family don’t fall foul of too much sitting.
Why not encourage the kids to go and have a kick about in the garden for every hour they spend on the screen, or go out for a walk or trip to the park before the screens are turned on for the day.
You could also play hide and seek with the remote control or iPad to encourage them to get moving before they settle down – just don’t make it too easy!
If you have older kids you might like to reward them with screen time for doing other things, such as washing the car, going on an errand or cleaning their rooms. Anything that gets their heart pumping and makes them feel warmer will be doing them good!
USE SCREENS FOR GOOD
OF course using screens doesn’t have to mean sitting still.
There’s a whole plethora of online fitness sessions suitable for both kids and adults, from Zumba and bhangra-size to HIIT workouts and yoga, there really is something for everyone.
Classes can be live or accessed on YouTube at any time to suit you, which makes it much easier if you’re trying to fit a session in around a busy family life.
There are also plenty of opportunities to include a bit of movement into the screen time itself, why not put the music channel on and have 10 minutes dancing together before you put on a movie, or encourage the kids to act along with the storyline to get them up off the sofa – chances are they know a number of films off by heart by now!
An easy test to see if the activity is strenuous enough is to try and talk or sing – if this makes you feel out of breath then you are doing enough.
EXERCISE WHILE YOU WORK
FOR those of us who have to sit in front of a screen for work or to study, a good technique is to try and incorporate a little movement into your day. This could be standing while you are on the phone or pacing the room while you’re reading notes. Anything that gets you up out of the chair will be making your muscles work and doing you good, so it’s beneficial even if you stand for a few minutes at a time.
Just because you are working from home it doesn’t mean you have to be tied to your desk.
SCREEN ON THE GO
OF course, the best way to incorporate a screen into your activity is to take it outside!
Smartphones, watches and activity trackers are among the smallest in the screen family but are a great way to make the most of technology while you are out and about.
At their most basic level they can be used as step trackers, while more modern phones will be able to support geocaching and augmented reality game apps. These use the mobile phone’s GPS to create a virtual treasure hunt in the real-world environment, and will have players running from one point to another to find the next ‘treasure’.
While geocaching tends to direct participants to a physical box or object, augmented reality games – such as Pokemon Go or Sharks in the Park – find computer-generated rewards which can be been seen on the phone’s screen.
These are all brilliant fun for the whole family. But don’t take my word for it – why not give it a go?
■ Andy Brooks is a Community Fitness Manager at Life Leisure sports trust, lifeleisure.net
If you have older kids you might like to reward them with screen time for doing other things, such as washing the car... anything that gets their heart pumping