Exercise Guidelines

The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines encompass sleep, sedentary (sitting) behavior, and recommendations for physical activity across different populations. Understanding what these guidelines are and how to integrate them into your daily routines supports healthy behaviors, lowers risks of disease and illness, and improves physical functioning!

The Movement Guidelines vary depending on age group, persons living with a disability/medical condition, and for pregnant women. To view the different Movement Guidelines, please visit https://csepguidelines.ca/downloads/. For Adults (18-64 years), the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines encourage (a) moving more, (b) sleeping well, and (c) reducing sedentary time:

A)      Physical Activity - Moving more includes aiming for 150 minutes/week of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity. Aerobic activity is fueled by oxygen and can increase your breathing rate and heart rate. Some examples of aerobic activity include walking, running, swimming, and cycling. In addition to aerobic activity, the guidelines also suggest muscle strengthening 2x/week for each major muscle group.

B)      Sleeping Well – Sleeping for 7-9 hours per night with consistent wake-up and bedtimes.

C)      Sedentary (sitting) behavior – Limiting sitting time to less than 8 hours/day with less than 3 hours/day of recreational screen time. As well as taking frequent breaks to avoid prolonged periods of sitting.

Following the 24-Hour Movement Guidelines is associated with many health benefits such as lowering the risk of hypertension (high blood pressure), cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes. In addition to lowering the risk of diseases and illnesses, health benefits also include improving cognition, bone health, and overall quality of life.

A key point to the Movement Guidelines is that these are just suggestions! Any progress towards these targets will be beneficial to your overall health – getting some movement in is better than getting no movement. Taking small steps and making healthy movement choices will still make a big impact. If you have any questions about how you can incorporate these guidelines into your daily lives, book in to see any of our practitioners!