This is what movement does for us. All of us. It makes us feel better about ourselves and our bodies, inside and out.   

This experience reminded me why I continue to move each and every day and to encourage those that struggle to find the time and their reason to move. No matter what age you are, humans are designed to move – daily. We have arrived in a lightning fast paced society that provides instant gratification and screens surrounding us that guess what? – aren’t going anywhere. 

Recent research is showing that sitting too much (and this includes your driving time) will shorten your lifespan, diminish quality of life and contribute to development of chronic disease. When we sit down, our metabolic rate decreases and fat burning potential decreases. Sitting for long periods leads to depression and it gets harder to get going again the longer we sit. Our body functions best when it’s active. This doesn’t mean you need to sign up for a marathon…. small steps lead to big lifelong changes. Find something that you enjoy to do.

As parents, I believe it is our duty to set examples of not only staying active for ourselves but to ensure our kids are getting active in this screen dominated society. Screens are their reality as well as ours. Too much screen time can create sleep problems, vision problems, obesity and loss of social skills. If being active doesn’t come naturally, it’s our job to schedule it in for them. Whether individual activities or as a family, movement is integral, it is fun and it just makes life better.

Kerri.