Use the stairs instead of an elevator/escalator.
“There is no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs.”
-Zig Ziglar
Hey, guys!
We’ll do the best we can to convince you into accepting this challenge. Even though this might be the most physical challenge so far, besides the challenge of planting a tree (the hole digging part), we hope you’ll be more than happy to perform it. Not only will you do a good thing for the environment, but you’ll also do a positive thing for your health.
There are elevators and escalator stairs practically in every public building, making it quite difficult not to use them. Not to even mention that they enable us to move effortlessly and faster from one floor to another. Since we are aware that most of you are usually in a hurry, we are not asking you to completely stop using elevators/escalators. Just do the best you can.
If there are too many stairs to go all the way by foot, you can take the elevator on the ground floor and then get off a few floors before the one you’re headed for and walk the rest of the way. Don’t start walking from the ground floor and then call the elevator to take you to the top, cause you’ll waste extra electricity. Statistically, the elevator is headed to the ground floor in over 90 % of the rides and way less to other floors.
Unless you want a hard workout don’t go walking for more than 5 floors, especially if you are not ready to break a sweat. We must point out that we have nothing against the elevators in general, and that we highly appreciate the technology that makes our everyday life easier. Read more about the elevator facts.
“Life tells you to take the elevator, but love tells you to take the stairs.”
-David Levithan
Benefits of taking the stairs
There are three or sometimes even four upsides to taking the stairs instead of an elevator.
1.) You can save energy by taking the stairs. However, that applies only at the times when you’d be using it alone since elevators use about the same amount of electricity whether they are going up empty or full. So if you see an elevator full of people just about to take off, you don’t have to feel bad for the environment if you hop on it.
How much energy does an elevator use?
On average elevators use about 2.5 Wh per floor (going up; it’s 40 times less for going down). That is approximately the amount of electricity that will charge your cell phone to 50 %. It’s not much, but if we all skip a ride every now and then we’d actually save a lot of energy.
2.) You can save time. If the elevators are really busy (stopping at basically every floor), you could get to your floor faster by foot. Though, it depends on the speed of the elevator, your walking speed, and the numbers of stops.
3.) You get a free workout. Walking is already a great exercise, but walking the stairs is an even better one. You might be surprised how much you can do for your body and overall health just by taking the stairs. It can lower your bad cholesterol levels and raise good cholesterol levels. It also relieves stress. All in all, it can keep your heart healthy or even improve your heart’s health.
4.) It has a positive psychological side effect. When we climb to the top of the stairs we subconsciously feel like we have overcome an obstacle. As such, it always makes us feel good about ourselves when we climb to the top of the stairs.
“Hard work is like stairs and luck is like a lift, sometimes the lift may fail but stairs will always take you at the top … “
-Ritu Ghatourey
Make your children climb stairs
This is an extra suggestion for all parents. Start at an early age and you’ll get your offsprings used to it. As babies they will get some extra exercise, they’ll also develop additional motoric skills, and they’ll learn how to overcome obstacles, which will help them in everyday situations.
WARNING: Don’t do that if you’re in a hurry. 😉
We hope you’ll end up loving stairs climbing, saving energy and your health along the way. 🙂
Take-home points:
Taking the stairs instead of an elevator can save electricity.
Taking the stairs can save you time.
Taking the stairs is always good for your health.
Stair climbing is one of the best exercises out there.
Have a lovely week. And remember to take deep breaths while climbing the stairs. 😉
With love and care,
Good Earthlings
A great reminder to be a bit more aware of the energy being used each day when using the elevator or escalator. I also think it’s too easy to quickly avoid the stairs when in a rush or tired, rather than use the extra energy to be healthier. I try to take the stairs most times, but find myself hopping on an escalator every now and then. It would be better for my health to just skip that part and walk.
Good job, Kerri. Keep it up. However, if you do take an elevator every now and then don’t beat yourself up over it too much. 😉
All best,
Good Earthlings
Personally, I like taking the stairs also. The reason is because I feel that walking is much faster compared to waiting for the elevator to stop at every single floor. Back when I was in college, I would walk straight up to the fourteenth floor without giving it a second thought. Like you said, it also saves energy for the environment. Of course, it wouldn’t matter if a lot of people constantly use it, because energy is being spent whether I use it or not. I just like idea of speed. I had no idea that an elevator going up one floor is half of my phone’s battery. I’m not sure if it’s because smartphone batteries are efficient nowadays or elevators are wasteful.
Keep up the good job, Blame. We are very proud of you 🙂