NEAT: What's That?
NEAT, or Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, refers to the calories you burn from activities outside of planned exercise, sleep, and eating. It encompasses
the movements you make throughout your day, such as walking around the office, fidgeting, or doing household chores like vacuuming and gardening. These seemingly small actions accumulate, making a substantial difference in your overall caloric expenditure. This increased expenditure promotes a healthy weight and facilitates healthy blood flow within your body, contributing significantly to your well-being. This concept highlights how even small, consistent movements can lead to significant health benefits, emphasizing the importance of an active lifestyle even beyond structured exercise sessions. Engaging in NEAT activities helps keep your metabolism active and contributes positively to your overall health.
NEAT's Amazing Benefits
The advantages of incorporating NEAT movements into your life extend far beyond simple calorie burning. Research suggests that NEAT can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and even death from all causes. Effectively, it counteracts the detrimental effects of a sedentary lifestyle, helping you live longer and improve your health. Consider our ancestors, who, due to their hunter-gatherer lifestyles, engaged in far more daily movement than modern humans. Our bodies are designed for motion, and NEAT fulfills this need. For instance, fidgeting, a form of NEAT, can improve insulin sensitivity and aid the digestive process, leading to increased energy and better digestion. NEAT movements also improve muscle recovery, relieve stress, lower inflammation, reduce the risk of chronic diseases, and help regulate blood sugar and energy levels.
NEAT vs. Exercise
Planned exercise, like lifting weights, is often designed to build muscle mass and improve metabolic health, resulting in a higher daily calorie burn. However, the number of calories burned during a single workout session is relatively low. In contrast, NEAT movements, woven throughout your day, collectively add up to several hours of activity, which can burn a considerable number of calories. The key takeaway is that both exercise and NEAT are important for your health. While exercise builds muscle and boosts metabolism, NEAT provides consistent movement that contributes significantly to overall health and calorie expenditure. Incorporating both planned exercise and NEAT into your weekly routine offers a comprehensive approach to fitness and well-being, maximizing the benefits of an active lifestyle.
Boost Your NEAT
Luckily, incorporating more NEAT into your life is easy and doesn't require expensive equipment or specific training. The activities of daily life, from walking to typing, washing dishes, gardening, and even fidgeting, all count towards your daily NEAT total. You can take the stairs instead of the elevator, or park farther away from the entrance of a building. Simply incorporate more movement into your daily routine. NEAT is the principle behind the '10,000 steps a day' recommendation, highlighting its importance in promoting an active and healthy lifestyle. To increase your NEAT levels, consider planning a daily walk, taking movement breaks during your work or chores, stacking habits, and choosing movement over screen time, for example. Small changes in your daily habits can have a significant positive impact on your overall health and well-being.
