AVOIDING EXERCISE
WHY IT’S UNHEALTHY It can be easy to get into a rut of always using the lift, driving everywhere or finding excuses not to be active. But without the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity every week you increase your risk of obesity, depression, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. Strategies for breaking it ■■ Pick whatever feels good. Choose an exercise you actually like and you’ll be more likely to keep it up – be it dancing, cycling, swimming or golf. ■■ Start small. Commit to three 30-minute sessions a week at first, building up to five. ■■ Create a ritual. To make exercise a habit, stick to a regular time of day, place or routine. Soon these behavioural cues will have you automatically grabbing your kit and heading out. ■■ Get a friend to join you. Plan a twice-weekly walk with a friend you’d like to see more to kill two birds with one stone and make you less likely to cancel. ■■ Commute on foot. We all need to walk more so why not leave your car at home and walk to the station or work whenever you can? Fix a time to log off so there’s a clear division between work time and home time. ■■ Disable any unnecessary notifications. End the process by which Facebook and other applications send updates, tweets and emails directly to your phone’s home screen. Anyone who needs to contact you urgently will call you. ■■ Modify your routine. If that early morning email check tends to eat up most of breakfast, or that evening scan of Facebook ends up lasting most of the night, it might be time to change your daily digital routine and put real-life tasks first. It’s much easier to stay off the computer if you never get on it. Addicts often say the best they felt in their life was the first time they tried a drug or had a drink. But over time, they develop tolerance and need to consume larger quantities to try to recreate that initial buzz. Studies that looked at the brains of addicts found they’re more likely to make snap decisions without considering the long-term consequences. ● If any of this sounds a lot like you, the important thing to remember is that addictions can be treated. The first step is acknowledging the potential problem and going on to seek the right help.
Speak to your GP or contact an addiction charity such as actiononaddiction.org.uk for further support.