"One tenet of self-compassion is this common humanity, that we all struggle at this," she says. It's important to have compassion on yourself. Or if you're not a morning person, then don't plan to exercise in the morning.Īnd remember, she adds, "getting started is the hardest part." Don't blame yourself if you're struggling to get started. So if you hate running, don't run just because it's trendy or someone tells you it's good for you, says Carter. And that includes knowing what's not realistic for you. "I think part of developing a good exercise plan for each of us is knowing ourselves well, knowing what's feasible," says Carter. In fact, "going from no activity at all to even a little bit of activity is going to get some of the biggest health effects," says Meyer, compared with the benefits for someone who is already working out regularly. But in reality, "five minutes is better than none."
"It's like either I do zero or I do two hours, and if I don't get two hours, then it doesn't count, or it's not good enough," she says. People trying to start exercising often get caught up in an "all or nothing" thinking, says sports psychologist Jennifer Carter at the Ohio State University. "If I were to walk around my office, all those steps would count, it would be helpful," he says. If you haven't been working out throughout the pandemic and are intimidated about starting now, don't worry, says Meyer. Meyer and other exercise experts shared some tips to get started: Think small With another pandemic winter about to hit us and much of the country and the world still dealing with COVID-19, we are often stuck at home more than we'd like, so it's time to start sitting less and moving around more. "We know consistently that the more people are active, the more that they exercise, the better their mental health is," says Meyer.įor many office workers like me, working from home means we've fallen into a routine of spending hours at our desk. Scores of previous studies confirm that being physically active boosts mood, lowers anxiety and improves sleep quality. The good news is that something as simple as some very light movement around the house to break up all that couch surfing time can make a difference in mood, as Meyer's earlier research has found. "People who continued to have really high levels of sitting, their depression didn't improve" as much, says Meyer. His own research showed that in the early weeks of the pandemic, people who exercised less and had more screen time were likely to be stressed, depressed and lonely.Īnd though most people saw their mental health gradually improve as they adapted to a new reality, people who stayed mostly sedentary didn't see get the same improvement, according to a follow-up study by Meyer.
"The sneaky effects of the pandemic that we might not even notice that we've changed our sitting patterns," says Jacob Meyer, director of the Wellbeing and Exercise lab at Iowa State University. More than a year and a half of social distancing and work-from-home policies have led to less time moving around and more time sitting and looking at screens - it's a potentially toxic combination that's linked with poorer mental health.
And it's not just bad for our waistlines - it's hurting our mental health. Of all the ways in which the pandemic has affected Americans' well-being, perhaps the one we've noticed least is how much we're sitting. Add five-minute stints of fun and easy exercise to your day at home by working with what's around you, says trainer Molly McDonald.
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