Movement Snacks
Movement Snacks have been popping up all over. They are all over fitness websites, social media, and mainstream news sites.
The idea that we can improve our heath with short easy bursts of movement is a powerful one. And, fortunately for us, the fact that it works is backed up with research.
What Is a Movement Snack?
A food snack is a small amount that is eaten on its own, not as part of a larger meal.
A movement snack is a small amount of movement done on its own, not as part of a larger exercise routine or other activity.
For example, lifting weights for an hour is a workout. Picking up the dog repeatedly and kissing it on the nose is a movement snack. Vacuuming the house is a chore. Walking around, bending over, and picking up loose tufts of cat fur is a movement snack.
You can find a lot of movement snack definitions that differ on the details. However, I tend toward a "if it feels like a movement snack, it is a movement snack" philosophy.
Some folks, in an attempt to create a clearer definition, add a lot of restrictions. I like to see this as them defining different flavors of movement snacks. Nuts, crackers, and fruit are all types of food snacks. To me, moving for ten minutes, moving outside, and doing only non-exercise movement are all types movement snacks.
I have two guidelines for movement snacks:
Focus on movement, not necessarily exercise.
Let them be short, one to ten minutes.
Are Movement Snacks Beneficial?
Yes.
Inactivity is bad for you, and a movement snack is the opposite of inactivity.
But more than that, evidence shows that snack-sized activities lead to improved health.
The first edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommended that aerobic activity should be performed in episodes of at least 10 minutes. In preparing the second edition, the advisory committee looked at the relationship between health outcomes and the duration of episodes of activity.
They concluded, “The evidence reviewed continues to support that physical activity accumulated in bouts of at least 10 minutes in duration can improve a variety of health-related outcomes. However, additional evidence, mostly from cross-sectional studies, suggests that physical activity accumulated in bouts that are less than 10 minutes is also associated with favorable health-related outcomes.”
Ideas for Movement Snacks
Every morning while waiting for your coffee to brew or oatmeal to cook, stand with your feet firmly on the floor. Inhale and raise your arms up to the side and then overhead. Stretch one arm higher, then the other. Lower your arms and repeat.
Every hour, get up and walk around for one minute. The Apple Watch and other fitness watches can be set up to remind you.
When you need to climb a flight of stairs, pause at the bottom and do some hip flexor stretches and calf raises. Then, challenge yourself to climb more quickly than your usual pace.
While you are talking on the phone, pace around. Stand on one foot, point your other foot's toes, and tap your toe point as far from you as you can while maintaining your balance. Then press that foot into the ground behind you, bending at the toe joint. Pick up the foot and turn it in, turn it out, and explore all the directions it can move.
When the mood strikes you. Stand up, walk to a counter, put on some music. Pretend you are a ballet dancer.
Turn folding the laundry into performance art. Lift each item dramatically overhead. Apply as many flourishes as you can (and still get the job done).
Get up and walk out the door. Walk around the exterior of your house or building, and come back in.
Find one or more 5- or 10-minute yoga routines that you like. You can use Google to search phrases like "5 minute chair yoga" or "10 minute morning yoga." Then pick a time of day that works for you and see if you like doing it every day.
Play air basketball with yourself. Dribble an invisible basketball, evade the defenders, and go in for the jump shot! Repeat until you are out of breath.
Every time you come back to your seat do several sit-to-stands. Or see how many sit-to-stands you can do in a minute.
Go to the local playground and swing on the swingset.
What movements snacks do you do throughout the day?
References:
León-Muñoz, Luz M et al. “Continued sedentariness, change in sitting time, and mortality in older adults.” Medicine and science in sports and exercise vol. 45,8 (2013): 1501-7. doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e3182897e87 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23439420/
Pišot, Rado. “Physical Inactivity - the Human Health's Greatest Enemy.” Zdravstveno varstvo vol. 61,1 1-5. 27 Dec. 2021, doi:10.2478/sjph-2022-0002 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8776290/
Thorp, Alicia A et al. “Sedentary behaviors and subsequent health outcomes in adults a systematic review of longitudinal studies, 1996-2011.” American journal of preventive medicine vol. 41,2 (2011): 207-15. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2011.05.004 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21767729/
2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee. 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2018. https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/PAG_Advisory_Committee_Report.pdf
Note: For help adding more movement to your life, including an assessment of your current movement, schedule an initial consultation today!
