Is Mobile a Noun or Verb?

I cannot sit in lectures for very long before I begin to squirm. Yes, I am one of those annoying people. I get uncomfortable, my butt gets stuck to the chair, I roll my feet and my shoulders around. Finally, I get up and go to the bathroom, just so I can move around before returning to my seat and my seat neighbors who would be happy if I stayed in the back of the room, pacing. I have been known to do that.

We were never meant to sit as much as we do. Early man was mobile. After all, a slow man might be lunch for a fast animal. John Ratey, a Harvard professor, maintains that early man walked 8-10 miles a day, most of it searching for food. We burn fewer calories than our grandparents; we sit more than we sleep. Sad. Hence, the proliferation of standing desks, in an effort to compensate.

The people of Okinawa, some of the oldest people in the world, walk all day, everywhere. Not us. We have cars. We sit in them. Sometimes, we sing in them.

Or we drive to the gym, yoga, swim club, boot camp, or spin class. It might involve an hour or three every week. If a week has 168 hours, what are we doing for the rest of the time? You guessed it: sitting. Or sleeping. And burning few calories.

Just standing utilizes more calories than sitting, or sleeping. An easy way to burn more calories is to stand more, walk more. It involves the whole body: back, shoulders, and leg muscles engaged, shifting from foot to foot improving balance, eyes focused so we don’t walk into doors. Standing is active, sitting is passive. Our brain likes, and responds to, active engagement.

We know that the brain likes novelty and activity, and it lights up when we try new things. So might standing more, walking more, and engaging more of our body in activity, increase brain function? Which just might decrease our chances of falling, muscle atrophy, and Alzheimer’s.

Pretend you have a dog and go for a walk around your neighborhood, utilize the stairs and don’t use the people mover at the airport, and try the bus once in a while instead of always driving. You choose every day how you age. It isn’t hard. You just have to think about it.

That’s Aging Intelligently.