Much debate has taken place over what is the "ideal" number of steps a person should take per day to remain healthy.
Depending on which latest funded 'research' you consult, what they term the magic number can apparently be anything as high as 6,000 to 10,000.
So here at StressBustingExpert™, we decided to do some real time, on the job research of our own.
Donning our most padded Nikes at 10.15am with a recorded daily step count of 573 at that time (though we had been up since 5am with Her Majesty the Baby by then) off we went for a step tour of duty.
The 1st stage of our recorded stepathon took us to our most local Walmart/Asda.
Up and down the aisles we meandered for essentials before retreating to McDonald's next door for a welcome 30 minute coffee break/ refreshment at 11am, with an impressive 3,598 steps under our belts.
At 11.30am, we got back on the step train and our journey took us along the main street followed by another walk up and down the aisles of a major supermarket on our way home.
We returned home at 12.30pm with a total of 7236 steps achieved since we left the house.
Even deducting our coffee break (which we felt was needed), that took us in total almost 2 hours.
Which begs a question, where on earth would a person who, for example, works full time and has children to tend to, or is voluntary carer of a family member, find that kind of time to expend on themselves every single day?
In other words, statistics and related recommendations can tend not to take into account the practical realities of modern day life - people take on important social responsibilities such as full time work and care, which they embrace despite the fact they can put their personal wellness at risk; and the last thing they need is to feel they can't engineer the time they need to be healthy themselves.
This is exactly the sort of reason we set up StressBustingExpert™ - to try to define realistic independent wellness targets for normal people as an alternative to 'pure' statistics which on their face are so practically or transparently unachievable as to be more demoralising than helpful (see "StressBustingExpert™ - Read Our 2023 Mission Statement" for further detail).
We surmise there are people out there who want to, and aspire to, be fit and healthy, but who are stressed out by knowing they cannot make the time to hit the step targets stipulated, which could label them 'sedentary' as a result. And those people who cannot make the time despite their best endeavours are some of the most important to society as a whole.
The statistics do come with caveats that people "may" only need a 30 minute dedicated walk to reach the targets depending upon their activity levels during the rest of the day, though our tracking of steps taken during non walk days puts us nowhere near the 3,000, let alone the 6,000 or 10,000, step target, and that includes running a household around Her Majesty the Baby!
So, it may be time for the 'statisticians' to literally "put themselves in others shoes" before rolling out their numbers (if you will excuse the very bad pun!) then trying to correct their damage after the event (indeed, we have just read in a major newspaper that the "new" magic number might only be 2,500!).
Because numbers issued in a contextual vacuum are frankly worthless.
Alternatively, employers might start to be given incentives for granting employees the working time they would manifestly need to hit step milestones, as this would in its turn, according to the same research, take immense pressure off stretched healthcare systems.
In the meantime, for practical and achievable wellness aspirations which bear in mind the commitments and responsibilities of busy people performing important but time consuming tasks this day and age, please see, by way of example, our posts entitled:-
"Avoid the “All Inclusive Breakfast Buffet” approach to Stressbusting™"
"A Smart Watch is no substitute for a "Smart Approach""
"The StressBusting™ capacity of household chores"
"The Value of Morning "Stretchbusting™""
"Know the shape of your personal fuel tank"
And please do share any tips and strategies you have learned or developed yourselves that can be effectively incorporated into a hectic daily routine without recourse to constantly changing and thus arbitrary advertised step targets.
StepManagedLove,
MikeyM™&LouLoU™😊😍😎🧡💛💕 xxxx