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3:00 AM 19th February 2022
lifestyle

Healthy Heart Tip: Getting Active

 
Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart Research UK

Regular physical activity is strongly associated with a reduced risk of chronic conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes as well as improving mental health. Even small increases in physical activity can positively impact on health.

Here are a few tips from Heart Research UK:

Avoid long periods of inactivity

Set a timer to go off at specific times throughout the day to prompt you to do ten (or more) minutes of physical activity. Any activity is better than none. You can include a variety of light, moderate and vigorous activities. E.g. a brisk walk, sit-ups, weight-lifting, gardening or housework.

Reduce screen time for kids

It is common for children and young people to spend too much time sitting in front of a screen. Why not talk to your children about the importance of staying active and agree on a set amount of screen time each day/week and schedule in some time for getting active.

Don't be a couch potato

Rather than spending your evenings sitting on the sofa without moving much, why not try a few gentle exercises, such as leg raises, while watching your favourite TV show. Try opening YouTube and searching for a quick 10- or 20-minute workout video.

Change your daily commute

Now that many of us are heading back to the workplace, try not to jump straight for the car as the main choice of travel. If you do need to drive to work, then why not park a little further away once you arrive in order to get some valuable steps in.

Heart Research UK
Proud to stand out from the crowd, Heart Research UK is the charity dedicated to your heart. They inspire and invest in pioneering medical research, ground-breaking training and education, and in communities to improve their heart health for themselves. For over 50 years they have driven advancements in the prevention, treatment and cure of heart disease to benefit patients as soon as possible.

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of the Healthy Heart recipes from the website: https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/