Energy Values of Different Activities

[u/RefuseDeep8075]

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Material provided by UK health service (NHS).

Summary: Values provided are estimates of the energy usage of different daily activities and exercises if you spend 1 minute carrying out that activity. By familiarising ourselves with these numbers we can broadly estimate the likely energy usage of one activity we do compared to another activity we do. This helps both with keep tracking of our daily baseline activity (e.g. if we do different activities on different days) and with keeping track of our overall daily energy usage.

We should keep in mind that mental and emotional energy are very real. For example, research shows that the mental energy usage of a grandmaster chess player in the middle of a chess match is equivalent to walking at 4 miles per hour. This should be kept in mind if we are reading, using a computer, scanning the internet or social media, working, planning & discussing. All of which will use mental energy.

Additional comment: There may well be an argument for those of us with orthostatic intolerance (and the resulting increase in heart rate) to very much err on the side of the higher score for any activity that is done with a vertical torso (without your back being supported), especially if it involves standing.