Common Belief

Balanced Diet +Regular Physical activity = Healthy Body

Regular Exercise Regime

Physical fitness activity is easier said than done. Some of us have been able to inculcate exercise in our daily routine. But for most, it still features in new year resolutions, almost every year.

So while there is no second thought on the importance & benefits of regular exercise, there is something which can be done to complement exercises and, maybe, act as a partial substitute. That is to enhance our NEAD!

What is NEAD?

It is the art of giving natural movements and exercise to your body through subtle changes in your daily routine & preferences, i.e. the Non Exercise Agile Duration. NEAD encompasses different types of motions that are inbuilt in our way of life and hence can be achieved as we do our daily chores.

Why the need for NEAD?

Rapid changes in lifestyle, long travel hours, shrinking personal & public spaces, and other factors have made it difficult to exercise regularly. Hence to counterbalance the sedentary and inactive lifestyle we need to bring in the element of NEAD.

How to enhance your NEAD?

It is for every individual to identify and create these small but effective healthy nudges in their daily routine. Options are many, just that we need to open up our minds

Some simple choices can be

• Choose to sit on the floor instead of a sofa or chair and you would end up doing at least 50 squats a day. So easy!
• Park your vehicle in a farther parking spot, be it at a mall or office. You can achieve some 200 odd steps in the same time which you would spend in searching for a parking spot right in front of the entrance
• Taking stairs, whenever possible. For the ones on higher floors, get off the elevator a few floors before your destination.
• Smaller water bottles will prompt you to walk up to the water cooler.
• Adopt an active working pattern
• Most importantly, cut down on your digital time and you might suddenly realize that there is a lot of time available

There are many more such ‘hacks’ for you to discover yourself.

So an increased NEAD is your real NEED and not a WANT !