The term "non-exercise activity thermogenesis" refers to the energy that you expend to do all the things you need to do during the day that does not involve sleeping, eating, or engaging in aerobic activities (like running or playing sports). Walking around, going for a run to catch the bus, doing yard work, cleaning the house, or even fidgeting is one of the ways one can reach NEAT. The amount of time that can be spent doing this kind of activity throughout the day can be significant. Although exercise is good for you, you may hear a lot that exercise doesn't make much of an impact on your weight loss. Nevertheless, that may be true, but what does impact weight loss is the level of NEAT activity that is being carried out. This is because of the fact that how you move throughout the day contributes to much more energy consumption than how much you expend during one training session. As soon as you begin to move, your mitochondria get the signal to produce more energy, and this will happen not just during your exercise sessions, but throughout the day.
The benefits of NEAT also counteract the risks associated with sedentary behavior. Movement throughout the day burns up the ATP your mitochondria produce, minimizing the buildup of the cellular exhaust (ROS) a by-product of energy production. The NEAT program consists of a variety of activities that can be compared to opening the garage door and taking the car out for a drive. Using fuel is essential.
There is a strong connection between eating and moving. Movements that are spontaneous may not necessarily be spontaneous in nature. There is a natural instinct that is triggered by the intake of energy. Normally, humans and animals tend to move more in response to eating more food and move less in response to eating less food. Because of how easy it is to overeat and how easy it is not to move in our current culture, we have overridden this instinct. However, if you take the initiative to actively move more, you can start to reverse this mismatch between movement and energy intake by purposefully moving more. The easiest way to reset your appetite cues is to avoid sitting for long periods of time throughout the day. By moving your body at least every 30 minutes or so throughout the day, you will get your body back in sync with your appetite cues.
There are a number of simple ways to increase your NEAT. These activities can significantly increase your daily step count and fuel consumption:
- Creating and cooking meals from scratch, cleaning more vigorously, and working in the yard are all ways you can move more at home.
- Put a limit on the amount of time you spend watching television and using the computer. Depending on your personality, you might want to require yourself to get in some steps before turning on the TV.
- Take advantage of the time you spend watching TV or listening to podcasts by getting up and moving around, folding laundry, doing sit-ups and push-ups, or working out while watching TV or listening to podcasts. Try jogging in place during commercials-it might look silly, but this is a great way to get your steps in while you're watching.
- It is important to walk as much as possible when you're on the phone (this is why Bluetooth headphones are so useful). It is always a good idea to walk when possible rather than drive to run errands.
- It is important that you move on your breaks: Before or after classes, during coffee breaks, or whenever you need to stand up and stretch, take a walk instead of sitting and scrolling or checking your email instead of getting up and walking around.
- The more you get up earlier, the chances of you walking 20 to 30 more minutes than if you stayed up late and slept in after getting up earlier in midlife have been shown in studies.
- Do not be efficient: Bring your grocery bags in one at a time. Put things away one at a time, either upstairs or downstairs.
- Walking after meals is a great way to keep your body in shape: Make it a habit to walk for 15 minutes after every meal.
- It has been shown in research that those who walk are 81% to 100% more creative than those who sit, so it is important to move around while brainstorming or thinking about a problem.
- Activate your social skills on the go by taking a stroll with a friend instead of sitting and eating or drinking when you are socializing. Make time to spend with friends for activities such as group workouts or outdoor playdates with children with your friends.
- It has been shown that people who have dogs tend to walk a lot during the day, so they are quite active. There is a study that indicates that dog owners walk 22 minutes more each day and take 2,760 more steps each day than people without dogs. The number of dog owners who meet the weekly physical activity guidelines of 150 minutes is four times higher than the number of people who do not own a dog.
- Set your smartwatch or phone to remind you to move every 30 minutes while working by using the three-for-thirty rule.
- Make sure that you park far away from the entrance: Even at the grocery store, make sure that you park at the back of the parking lot
- Whenever you are at your desk, move. Swivel your chair, twist your torso, and roll your arms out. Do some jumping up and down, squatting down, and planking yourself, as well as squatting, wall sitting, and squatting.
It is technically true that walking and doing housework or having a physical job can be regarded as a source of NEAT, but if you think of it as exercise, you may actually be able to reap even more benefits from it. An experiment was conducted in which a group of housekeepers at hotels were told that their job qualified as exercise and met the criteria for living an active lifestyle, and another group called the control group wasn't told this. It was found that people who were told that their jobs counted as exercise burned more energy and became fitter than those who were not told. If you think of your NEAT activities as exercises, you may get even more benefits from them.
By Rashmi Goel
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