Want to improve your health? Stand up

Photo credit: Clipart.com

By Ibrahim Abdul-Matin

This summer has me fixated on Americans’ increasingly sedentary lifestyle. Our bodies were meant to be in motion and to be active. Recent research suggests that the death rate for people who sit 6+ hours per day is 40% higher than those who sit for 3 hours or less per day. These statistics are independent of exercise, which means we need to sit less each day, not just exercise more. Another interesting stat is that between 1980 and 2000, exercise rates stayed the same while sitting time increased by 8%. Furthermore, obesity doubled. While this does not suggest a causal relationship (i.e., sitting causes death/obesity), there is a strong correlation (i.e., sitting can cause death/obesity). We need to get up and do more to live longer and live healthier more active lives.

There is a growing movement of ‘workplace wellness,’ where companies are attempting to incorporate sports into workplace culture. Across the nation, work initiated basketball leagues and baseball teams (among others) are popping up. I just joined the City of New York’s softball league for city employees that provides time and space for employees to compete athletically. It’s quite informal, which is good (see my article from 3 weeks ago about casual play). You don’t need a bat, glove, or cleats to participate. Just showing up to play is encouraged. Last week I played in my first softball game in dozens of years, and found myself reminiscing.

In the summer of 1986, I showed up on a baseball field in a rural town called Sidney in upstate New York to join little league baseball. I had just moved from NYC and I did not own a pair of sneakers. I did not have shorts or jeans, and I definitely didn’t have a baseball glove. From the concrete jungle to an open field, it took time but I developed a deep love for baseball, the smell of the dirt and clipped grass, and the supple feel of a leather baseball glove. I got over the fear of a ball hurling towards my face and instead felt excitement at each opportunity to bat, pitch, or catch.

There is something about the sports we play as kids that will always stick with us. Playing competitive sports as adults is not only good for our bodies, but for our minds. It jogs memories of the energy and passion that we held as youth. It reminds us of days when we had the time to play and to be active. Can these reminders push us as adults to make the time to be active? Can we counteract the time spent in cars, at desks, on the couch?

Workplace sports leagues are a good start. Before our softball game last week against the Parks Department, I had not swung a bat or caught a baseball/softball since ending my days in little league and It was exhilarating. We were the weaker team by far. I fumbled a pop-fly that ended up allowing two runs. But I did hit a decent line drive into left field. We still got crushed 9-1 and I was, and still am, sore. But it’s is a soreness that feels good. It’s a sign of my activity over my being sedentary.

If you are reading this sitting down, please, stand up. Finish reading, then get up and stretch. Start making an activity plan. Your body and your mind will thank you.

Editor’s Note: Ibrahim Abdul-Matin has worked in the civic, public, and private sectors and on several issues including sustainability, technology, community engagement, sports, and new media. He is the author of Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet and contributor to All-American: 45 American Men On Being Muslim. From 2009 to 2011 Ibrahim was the regular Sports Contributor for WNYC’s nationally syndicated show The Takeaway. Follow him on twitter @IbrahimSalih. The views expressed here are his own.