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Cut Your Risk of Dying Prematurely in Half

Lotte Vesterli on April 7, 2022

You don’t need 10,000 steps a day. But 7,000 steps a day cuts your risk of dying prematurely in half. A big meta-study published in The Lancet gathers data from 15 large studies. They conclude that mortality – your risk of dying in any given month – at 7,000 steps is only half that at 3,000 steps. Just getting to 5,000 steps still gives you a 30% improvement.

If you believe you are already taking 5,000 or 7,000 steps per day, I have bad news for you: You don’t. Most people significantly overestimate their activity level, and I did as well. There is only one way to know and increase your number of steps: Count them. Get an app for your phone, or use a smartwatch or fitness tracker. Some people find that the carefully designed “nudging” in an Apple Watch makes them much more likely to reach their goals. But you can get a good-enough fitness tracker for less than $50.

Set a goal of 7,000 steps and find a way to track your progress. You will find that it also improves your mood and your energy.

Winter is Over. Get Outside

Lotte Vesterli on March 3, 2022

Winter is over. At least according to the calendar, which claims March as the first month of Spring. If you have been staying in your cave like a sleeping bear, now is the time to get out.

Fresh air, daylight and exercise are crucial elements of your physical and mental well-being. You have to get outside. No matter how much you sweat in aerobics class or how fast you run on a treadmill, your body needs to see daylight and breath fresh air. Take out your calendar and add an appointment with yourself to take a walk outside tomorrow.

Build Your Exercise Routine Back

Lotte Vesterli on April 29, 2021

Are you out of shape after the pandemic? Many people had exercise routines centered around going to a gym or participating in a team sport. During the pandemic, that kind of exercise was not possible. Few have had the willpower to implement a corresponding solo regime, so we’re out of shape.

But now gym reopenings are beckoning, and you can soon go back to your weekly aerobics or Taekwondo class. To prepare for that, start going a little bit of exercise every day. If you’ve not been training at all, start with ridiculously small amounts of exercise, but add a little every day. Write down in your journal what you did and make sure you do just a little more each day. If you jogged for 100 yards yesterday, jog 150 yards today. If you did 3 jumping jacks yesterday, do 4 today.

Movement is important for both your physical and mental health. Start building your exercise routine back.

Train Your Mind

Lotte Vesterli on November 23, 2020

You can train your body to lift heavier weights or to run faster. You might decide that being stronger or faster doesn’t matter to you, and that’s fine, as long as you maintain a basically healthy lifestyle. 

You can also train your mind. That has such a huge impact on your life that I believe everybody should do it. You train your mind by meditation, mindfulness, or simply relaxed breathing exercises. Whenever I give a talk, have a session with a client, present a webinar, or give a multi-day training class, I always include exercises you can use to train your mind.

You need to find some way to train your mind. You can read books (I recommend my own ;-), listen to podcasts or attend online trainings. I also have a two-hour online class coming up next Monday – you can read more and sign up here: https://vester.li/fcw.

Go Wandering

Lotte Vesterli on November 6, 2020

When you go out for a walk this weekend, wear a backpack with an extra sweater and a bottle of water. And put your phone in airplane mode and put it at the bottom of the backpack. Then go somewhere new – somewhere where you haven’t walked before (you might need to drive a short while to get to a new starting point). Walk aimlessly and just notice the things around you: The color of the leaves, birds in the sky, the sound of the wind. 

If you’ve done your aimless wandering right, and are not equipped with an exceptional sense of place and direction, you’ll eventually be lost. At that time, you are allowed to dig your phone out of your backpack and let it help guide you back.

In addition to being a fun way to get exercise, this also helps reset your relation with your phone. It reminds you that you should not let your phone feed you stress and anxiety, but appreciate it as a useful helper that you command.