Psychological treatment of sedentary behavior

We live in a sedentary society. Although in recent times the fact of exercising and sport has become popular, most people they have a basic routine that requires them to spend a large part of the time sitting in a chair with hardly any effort physical. Also at the leisure level, a large part of the population barely moves (for example, they spend a large part of their time watching television or on the networks), having a very passive life on a physical level.

A sedentary life can be a major problem: not doing any type of physical activity is dangerous and may be a significant risk factor for medical illnesses and disorders mental. It is even possible that people who want or need to stop leading this type of lifestyle do not know how to do it or do not see themselves qualified for it. That is why on many occasions it will be necessary perform a psychological treatment of sedentary behavior.

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Sedentary lifestyle: definition and risks

Although it is a concept already known by most of the population, it never hurts to revisualize the meaning of the term sedentary lifestyle in order to know what we are going to deal with.

A sedentary lifestyle is defined by the World Health Organization as the lifestyle that implies the absence of regular physical exercise or that tends to the absence of movement, understanding as such the performance of less than half an hour of daily physical activity.

It is a lifestyle that began to originate with the birth of agriculture and livestock but that has become more and more accentuated over the years. times, according to technological advances, it was not necessary to make large displacements and minimize the effort necessary to carry out our tasks. tasks. Today, even for something as appetizing as leisure or social relationships we hardly have to move, becoming more and more inactive.

Although technically it is not considered a disease or disorder, a sedentary lifestyle is one of the main risk factors modifiable for a large number of diseases, since it weakens the immune system and hinders the optimal functioning of the organism. In fact, around two million premature deaths could be caused by this factor.

Associated disorders

Some of the medical disorders with which been linked are heart disease in general, obesity and hypertension, various types of cancer and metabolic disorders such as diabetes (especially type II). Derived from the previous disorders, it can also be found to increase the risk of suffering from cerebrovascular accidents.

In addition to this, it also has an effect on a mental level: a sedentary person is much more likely to develop anxiety, stress or depression. Also facilitates and accelerates neuronal degeneration in patients with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.

The benefits of sport

A relevant element when dealing with a sedentary lifestyle is to show, on the one hand, the disadvantages that it has and, on the other, the multiple advantages that doing sports has.

In this sense, it should be noted that doing sports generates endorphins, so that it improves the subject's mood. Improves the health of our muscles and heart, strengthens our immune system and improves the quality of life. Likewise, it also increases the ability to memorize and the level of energy and attention that we can put into play.

It also improves sleep and sexual relations. Reduces levels of anxiety and depression and is even a protective factor for suffering from dementia. In addition, it usually generates a feeling of control and increases perceived self-efficacy. Lastly, it stylizes the figure and improves physical fitness in general, which can help increase self-esteem in some people.

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Psychological treatment of sedentary behavior

The aspects discussed above indicate that sedentary behavior is a risk and a disadvantage for our body. That is why many people consider the need for a change for which they may not feel capable, or even in many cases they have not considered their lifestyle and that go to a psychological consultation for another reason but in which it is a very relevant factor (such as subjects with depression), for which they may require help professional.

Below are some aspects and techniques that can be used in the psychological treatment of sedentary behavior.

1. Analysis and evaluation of the initial state and maintaining factors

Before beginning a psychological treatment of sedentary behavior, it will be necessary assess to what extent you are sedentary, if there are causes for it and what they are or if there are factors that prevent its behavior from changing. The subject's beliefs regarding exercise, state of health (through medical examination), preferences, context, expectations, the possible presence of emotional problems and the history of physical activity that the subject has had, among other factors.

Some of the most common reasons for having and maintaining a sedentary lifestyle or not doing any type of sport are lack of time, the presence of a low sense of self-efficacy (that is, the belief that they will not be able to play sports or maintain it over time), lack of self-esteem in general, discomfort or comparison with other people in daily life or in sports centers, the presence of disability or even the existence of methods of entertainment or the most comfortable and easy distractions to carry out.

All these factors must be taken into account and treated differentially in order to be able to carry out a psychological treatment of sedentary behavior successfully.

Once evaluated, you can begin to apply a series of techniques that help the patient to increase their level of activity. It is necessary to take into account that during this process, different aspects must also be evaluated and the plans modified according to the circumstances of each case.

2. psychoeducation

Many people are not aware of the risks of a sedentary life, or although they know that it is not positive, they do not see a reason to change their behavior. In this sense, psychoeducation can be useful, showing advantages and disadvantages of both physical activity and inactivity. Graphic elements can be used such as making pros and cons tables.

3. Cognitive restructuring and discussion of beliefs and thoughts

This technique may be necessary at any time. And it is that there are many irrational beliefs and expectations about what and how one should be, what sport means or how the world can react to it. Posing them as a hypothesis, generating alternatives and conducting behavioral experiments to contrast each one of them can generate behavioral change.

Cognitive restructuring makes it possible, for example, to combat dysfunctional beliefs about self-worth and self-efficacy that generate a depressive position and passive defenselessness. For example, various types of records can be used to compare initial expectations with the results of a behavioral experiment and observe whether or not their beliefs conform to what I expected.

4. Goal setting

If the subject agrees to introduce behavioral changes, they must be established jointly with the professional so that some scheduled, gradual and realistic objectives are established.

5. Activity plan generation

If the subject agrees, a physical activity plan can be carried out. Together with him, the circumstances will be analyzed, what he is willing to do and his preferences and objectives to form a coherent and achievable plan. It should be taken into account that first you have to do a basic conditioning and then to increase the demands and maintain them over time.

6. gradual exposure

It is important to keep in mind that physical exercise requires a certain level of effort. Although it will depend on each case, someone who is not used to it cannot start with excessively demanding exercises or they will find it complicated and tiring and will end up leaving it. It is because of that exercise should be considered gradually, inserting small physical activities (although not excessively easy but rather a small challenge) in daily life.

7. behavioral contract

One way to promote patient commitment is to make behavioral contracts, in which the patient commits to perform a certain activity, usually in exchange for a reinforcer. For example, it may be useful to associate physical activity with the achievement of a highly enjoyable activity for the subject.

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8. technique of self-instructions

A technique widely used in different areas in which a behavior must be learned or established, is based on the use and modification of self-instructions or self-verbalizations that we carry out when we do some behavior (for example: I have to buy... / I'm going to go and tell him that...) so that these are more positive than the previous ones and induce us to Act.

9. Self control training

The feeling of having little ability to control what happens to us or that our behavior hardly has positive consequences in the face of Reaching our goals is one of the aspects that causes many people to remain in a state of passivity and lack of activity. physical. Self-control training through Rehm's self-control therapy It can be very useful by helping the subject to self-monitor, evaluate himself in a positive way and self-reinforce for her behavior.

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10. relapse prevention

One last step to take into account when treating sedentary behavior is the idea of ​​trying to maintain the behavioral change over time and make it difficult for a sedentary lifestyle to reappear as a habit. In this sense, it is necessary to take into account the existence of factors that can generate this relapse and try to prevent it and generate alternatives for action. Likewise, the subject's autonomy and sense of self-efficacy are promoted and reinforced.

11. Evaluation and monitoring

As the subject introduces changes and once the treatment is finished it is necessary assess whether the objectives have been met, compare previous expectations with the results obtained and see if there have been difficulties at any point and why.