Calling all couch potatoes: it's time to get moving

There has been a lot of research appearing in the news lately about how your lazy habit could lead to a much sooner death than anticipated.

I’ll admit, sometimes it seems that almost everything has the capability of causing an early death: too much sugar, too much salt, too much sun exposure, not enough exercise. But try to swallow these statistics from the American Cancer Society.

Women who sit more than six hours in a day are 37 percent more likely to die early than women who sit for less than three. Women who spent the majority of their day sitting and never exercised were 94 percent more likely to die early.

Although less than women, men still ran the risk of early death with a sedentary lifestyle. Those who sat more than six hours were 18 percent more likely to die early than men who sat for less than three. Men who spent a great portion of their day sitting and never exercised were 48 percent more likely to die early.

Sure, everyone dies eventually and death is a natural occurrence to all species, but no one wants the day to come early.

Thinking about your expiration date is probably not a common occurrence for a youthful college student, but these are the prime years to develop habits that will ultimately prolong your life.

We often have little choice but to spend hours of each day sitting in lectures, studying in the library, riding shuttle buses or driving from place to place. Those hours of sitting can rack up fast and before you know it, you have been sitting down more than 6 hours in a single day.

Instead of meeting up with friends to have a sit down study session, quiz each other while walking around outside. Besides, the fresh air combined with exercise will help you concentrate better.

If time permits, take the long way to class or ride your bike to school.

College is a temporary fixture in your life. Your career, on the other hand, will probably last you the majority of your lifetime.

Pick a career or part time job where you are not bound to a desk and chair. I’m not saying you should become a nurse just so you can be on your feet for 12 hours at a time. Choose a job that you love and one that allows you to be active, even if that activity is walking from your chair to the printer 20 times a day.

Find any and every excuse to get up and move.

If you are an obsessive cell phone checker, put your cell phone in another room so you have to constantly get up to see how popular or unpopular you are.

Cook dinner every night. It’s a task that requires you to be on your feet until the job is done.

Or, if you want a real challenge, put down the remote, lace up your shoes and head to the gym.