Move More, Live Better – Simple Daily Movements to Combat the Global Health Crisis
Priscilla Hinds is an ICF-accredited coach specialising in growth, wellbeing, and mental fitness. As the founder of dream work achieve and creator of the happy growth coach app, she’s dedicated to helping people unlock their full potential and create lasting, positive change in both their lives and businesses.
In today’s convenience-driven world, we’re moving less than ever, and our bodies and minds are paying the price. Low daily activity has become a global health crisis, fuelling heart disease, diabetes, and mental health challenges.
Movement isn’t just exercise. It’s staying active throughout your day, bending, stretching, reaching, lifting, and balancing. Even small, intentional movements woven into everyday life can protect your body, sharpen your mind, and boost your wellbeing.
For many, especially in sedentary jobs, long hours of sitting can undo much of the benefit from structured exercise. That’s why it’s essential to integrate natural, regular movement into your day.
We are moving less: A growing global health crisis
Recent data shows that nearly 1.8 billion adults worldwide don’t move enough to meet basic health recommendations, a 5% increase since 2010. If this trend continues, over a third of the world’s adults could be physically inactive by 2030.[1]
Even with fitness apps and wellness trends booming, global research shows that daily physical activity continues to decline. We’re moving less, not because we don’t care about health, but because convenience has made movement optional.
Declining movement: Body and brain impacts
Research shows a clear link between low daily movement and declining physical and cognitive health.[2] Physical inactivity is now one of the leading risk factors for global mortality, contributing to over 5 million preventable deaths each year.[3]
Sitting for more than eight hours a day without regular movement increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and premature death by up to 20-30%.[4] A major study found that sitting for over 9.5 hours daily is linked to a significantly higher risk of early death, even if you meet exercise targets.[5]
Low activity levels also correlate with higher rates of anxiety, depression, and cognitive decline. Our bodies and brains are designed for movement. When we stop moving, mood, metabolism, and motivation slow down.
The hidden cost of modern life: A growing health threat
Modern life has quietly engineered movement out of our daily routines. As countries develop economically, inactivity levels can reach 70%, driven by changing transport, technology use, and lifestyle habits.
Everyday conveniences often remove opportunities for natural movement. For example:
Remote controls mean we no longer need to get up.
Rear cameras in cars reduce spinal rotation.
AI and online services allow many tasks to be completed without moving.
Prepackaged food removes chopping, stirring, and preparation.
Robot vacuums replace simple cleaning movements.
Flat pavements and floors limit natural foot and stabilising muscle engagement.
These small conveniences add up, creating lifestyles dominated by sitting, scrolling, and stillness.
Experiment: Add more movement to your day
You don’t need an elaborate exercise plan to counteract inactivity, just intentional movement woven into daily life. Try incorporating some of these simple habits:
Stand and stretch every 60-90 minutes, focusing on tight areas.
Store commonly used kitchen items on lower shelves so you squat regularly.
Roll a small ball under your feet or in your hands while working.
Store light items on higher shelves to encourage stretching.
Do calf lifts whilst sitting or standing.
Include small bursts of activity, like squats, lunges, or step-ups for 2-3 minutes, 3-4 times a day.
Sit on the floor occasionally, the ground provides healthy pressure and promotes mobility.
Walk on uneven surfaces (or smooth river stones in a tray) to activate foot muscles.
Walk backwards or in zigzags for a few minutes, challenge coordination, and engage your brain.
Try crawling or frog hops, playful movements that enhance stability and flexibility.
Hang from your hands, when possible, like on monkey bars, a movement largely absent in adult life.
Walk wherever you can.
The takeaway
Modern life makes it easy to be still, but our bodies and brains are designed to move. Regular, natural movement improves focus, mental clarity, stress resilience, and protects against the health risks of sedentary living.
To thrive, make movement a regular part of your day, even small actions add up. Pause and consider, "How can you add more movement to your everyday life?"
For more tips on building habits that enhance wellbeing, mental fitness, and personal growth, explore insights from dream work achieve. We offer tailored wellbeing coaching and interactive workshops to support you and your teams to flourish.
Read more from Priscilla Hinds
Priscilla Hinds, Growth & Wellbeing Strategy Coach
Priscilla Hinds is an ICF-accredited coach specialising in personal growth, wellbeing, and mental fitness. She’s the founder of dream work achieve and brings together a lifelong passion for health and wellbeing with years of executive and leadership experience. Helping people create thriving lives and businesses comes naturally. Her mission is to inspire others to dream boldly, grow continually, learn deeply, smile often, move with purpose, and live fully as their best selves.
References:
[1] World Health Organization. (2024, June 26). Nearly 1.8 billion adults at risk of disease from not doing enough physical activity.
[2] The Lancet. (2024). Global physical activity trends and implications for health. The Lancet Global Health, 12(8).
[3] World Health Organization. (2020, November 25). Every move counts towards better health, says WHO.
[4] World Health Organization. (2024). Physical activity: Fact sheets.
[5] The BMJ. (2022). Sitting time and all-cause mortality risk in adults. BMJ, 378, o1931.
