Unhealthy lifestyles are killing us and more than 20 million people in the UK are physically inactive, according to a report by the British Heart Foundation. The charity warns that inactivity increases the risk of heart disease and costs the NHS around £1.2bn each year.
Women are 36% more likely than men to be classified as physically inactive – 11.8 million women compared with 8.3 million men and the report defines ‘inactive’ as not achieving the government guidelines for physical activity of 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity a week and strength activities on at least two days a week.
The National Council for Hypnotherapy, which holds the largest directory of qualified hypnotherapists in the UK, says that clinical hypnotherapy, often when used for weight management, has been used to increase motivation for exercise.
“Hypnosis can increase your motivation for exercise. It can also help you reduce portion sizes so you lose weight healthily, steadily and for the long term,” says the NCH. “Hypnotherapy can teach you to feel good about yourself, whatever size you are. It focuses on making healthy changes to your diet and lifestyle that will remain with you for the rest of your life.”
The BHF analysis found that the average man in the UK spends a fifth of his lifetime sitting – equivalent to 78 days a year. For women, it is around 74 days a year. In the UK, physical inactivity contributes to almost one in 10 premature deaths from coronary heart disease, and one in six deaths from any cause.
Dr Mike Knapton, associate medical director at the BHF, said: “Levels of physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour in the UK remain stubbornly high, and, combined, these two risk factors present a substantial threat to our cardiovascular health and risk of early death.
“Evidence shows keeping physically active can reduce the risk of heart and circulatory disease by as much as 35% and risk of early death by as much as 30%.”
The NCH says that clinical hypnotherapy has a good success rate in helping people but there is a considerable variation in the difficulty of the various problems and there is no general rule which makes it possible to say how much improvement can be achieved and in how much time.
Clinical hypnotherapy is ‘an evidence based therapy, with over 70,000 research references worldwide’, says the NCH. But, the national body adds, it is often misunderstood by the public.
“It is important to understand that hypnotherapy is not a magic pill. It requires that the client be committed to change and prepared to make the effort to make that change a reality.
“The simpler problems can sometimes be overcome completely in one session as hypnosis can be extremely effective. Your therapist, as a member of the NCH, is committed to helping you as swiftly and effectively as possible.”
Given that the BHF found 76% of people in England, when referred for rehabilitation after suffering a heart attack or having heart surgery, were considered physically inactive, sorting your lifestyle is important and the NCH can help.
The BHF warns that more than 5 million deaths worldwide can be attributed to physical inactivity, making it one of the top 10 leading causes of death. Do not become one of those statistics…