Health Tip, How Long You Should Spend Sitting, Standing, and Sleeping Each Day

Add it up.  The time you spend at work, on the couch . . . and on the toilet.  How many hours will you spend SITTING today?

A new study looked at the exact amount of time the average person should sit, stand, sleep, and exercise in a typical day.

The good news is you should feel free to spend a significant amount of your life kicking back.  The bad news is most of us are well over the ideal number already.  Here's the healthiest combo, according to the results . . .

But as little as 7.5 hours is okay. This is one of the most challenging things for us to accomplish. For folks who don’t sleep through the night, this can be very debilitating. Try to set a bedtime and wake up time that you can stick to, and make it an every night occurrence.

But if you watch a lot of Netflix and have a desk job, you're probably over that. One way to make sure you are not sitting too much is to buy a smart watch, like the Apple Watch or Samsung. The smart watches will remind you to stand up if you’ve been sitting too long and even track how many hours you still up during the day.

That's just standing and walking around.  It doesn't include time spent exercising. This is not as hard to accomplish as it may seem. During the course of a day aim to stand at least 1/4 of it. That is six hours and if you only get five hours and 10 minutes at least you have met the minimum time goal for standing.

Half should be "light" activity, like walking or doing housework.  The other half should be moderate-to-intense activity.  So, 2 hours and 10 minutes of actual exercise. On a weekly basis, it shouldn’t be too difficult to do. If you aim for a minimum of 30 minutes per day, it would be very easy to reach the goal set here.

(NY Post)

The folks at Business Insider have published these Five Healthy Habits Take Only 5 Minutes or Less and could Add Years to Your life. Who doesn't want to do that? Especially knowing that these can all be done in a short period of time and pay dividends for years to come.

An expert on longevity listed some quick daily habits that could add years to your life:  Habit stacking . . . micro-meditations . . . five-minute workouts . . . and taking a few minutes to check in on people you care about.

It almost sounds too good to be true, but this is really exciting news. You can do these simple things easily and fit them into your daily routine. How about all the long grueling workouts that we thought were necessary to achieve a better longevity? We are told that pain was gain and no sweat meant no good. Finding five minutes in your day to add these routines to your day could extend your lifespan by years.

The good news is, these 5 Healthy Habits that only take 5 minutes or less that could add years to your life are not just about physical activities. There's more to living a long life than just working out. You have to work on yourself in other ways to achieve these goals.

Part of the goal of living a longer life is to share with others. This doesn't mean you have to be married (although studies suggest that happy couples live longer than then their single friends on average), you can live a long healthy life as a happy single person too. What matters is you have a good social network of friends, family and co-workers. Being alone and or lonely is one of the markers for a  shorter lifespan. So, getting out and together with people is a very important and crucial part of extending your lifespan, and it's will make living longer more fun and worth living.

Starting a new habit is hard. But adding a new habit onto an existing one is easier. You could add mindfulness to your morning coffee routine, or practice gratitude as you brush your teeth.

 Checking in with yourself doesn't need to take long.  A simple technique is focusing on your breath as you inhale for a count of four . . . hold for a count of seven . . . and exhale for a count of eight.

Research shows even short bursts of regular exercise can help keep you young.  Take a break from work and do some squats or wall sits, or take a brisk walk.  It can improve your whole day.

Instead of scrolling aimlessly at night, reach out to a few people you care about.  Connecting with friends can raise your levels of the "feel-good" hormone oxytocin, which has anti-inflammatory effects.

Having a sense of purpose is linked to a longer life.  So spend a few minutes a day thinking about what your passions are.  It can "not only add more years to your life, but more life to your years."