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> Advances [...] have resulted in an addictive but sedentary lifestyle that goes against human design, he said. It disrupts circadian rhythms, lowers exposure t
by helen___keller 7y ago
> Advances [...] have resulted in an addictive but sedentary lifestyle that goes against human design, he said. It disrupts circadian rhythms, lowers exposure to sunshine’s vitamin D and alters how we eat.
You can say that again. I've been living a sedentary, indoors lifestyle my entire life (literally since I got a gameboy pocket at 5 years old) because I grew up in a place where I hated to be outside, but in the past 5 years or so I've come to observe that my mood, my alertness, and my general happiness takes a dive if I don't get enough time outside, even just to take a walk every now and then.
I moved to a new apartment that requires a solid 25 minute walk each direction every day as part of my commute, and I think that's helped a lot to help make things more regular. Winter time sucks because it's almost always dark outside, but still if I work from home for a day I can feel the difference in my body from not having my usual walk.
Even with freezing weather and unshoveled slush on the ground, I still wouldn't give up my daily walk for, say, a car ride. I know I don't have the discipline to stay healthy outside of what's necessary to get to work.
- nradov 7y agoWhy do you lack that discipline?
- helen___keller 7y agoI don't know, but just speaking empirically I usually don't feel like doing things that are "productive" (side projects, working out, etc) after work I'm sure there's ways to improve on motivation, but my point is that empirically I've struggled with that and on the other hand I get my daily commute "for free" in terms of motivation
- nradov 7y agoMotivation is mostly bunk and tends to fall off quickly. It's more important to build discipline through good habits. Force yourself to exercise daily for a few weeks no matter how tired you are or how miserable it makes you. After a while it just becomes automatic and you stop having to think about it. You might not feel like brushing your teeth every day but you still do it, right? Same thing.
- riversflow 7y agoAt the risk of making myself seem untrainable, this doesn’t work for me. I can have a habit and break it by accident, but I always manage to say physically fit. This “motivation is mostly bunk” is about the worst advice you could give some like me. The main reason I stay fit is philosophical, or at least a remnant of my philosophy studies. Often the words of Socrates burn in my head; always a source of motivation. “No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.”