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We celebrated as Captain Tom raised millions for the NHS and the nation showed its thanks by clapping every week for our NHS heroes. We all want to show our gratitude and appreciation for the amazing people who are saving lives every day. Now you can do something to\u00a0help the NHS that doesn\u2019t cost a penny and only takes 30 seconds!<\/strong><\/p>\n The simple sit to stand exercise not only helps to keep us strong, it can also help to keep us out of hospital. Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n As we age we lose muscle mass and strength by 2% each year so by the time we\u2019re 80 we can have lost half our muscle mass. Strong muscles allow us to stand from a chair, walk and even use the toilet without giving it a second thought. These activities and others that we do every day are called Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and if we lose our muscle strength and the ability to complete ADLs, we can also lose our independence. This means we become more sedentary as others do things for us, becoming frail and vulnerable to illness or having a fall, which requires medical intervention from the NHS.<\/p>\n We have stayed home for months and even as lockdown eases, many of us lack the confidence to get out and about. This means that it\u2019s even more important for us to be active and avoid de-conditioning which can lead all sorts of problems and increase our risk of needing to go to hospital. Research has shown that reducing the number of steps taken per day to less than 1,500 for two weeks can result in almost 4% loss in muscle in 66-75 year olds. This could be even greater in older age groups. For those of us that can\u2019t or don’t want to leave the house,\u00a0it\u2019s vital we find other ways to keep active and combat muscle loss<\/strong>. If not, the NHS and social care sector could become overwhelmed by people losing their muscle and their independence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n