The studies are in. Sitting at your desk all day is more harmful to your health than ANY other negative thing you can do. Worse than smoking or eating transfats. The average American spends more than half of their waking hours on their rears. In older adults, the number is 60%. Think about it. The most common things we do is sit at our desk at work, drive in our car and then sit in front of our TV. This can lead to higher rates of mortality, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, poor cholesterol, and obesity.
What can we do about this? We have to work, have to drive to work and who can do without our weekly dose of reality TV?
- Try a stand-up desk http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60111123/
- Drink enough water to cause you to visit the restroom throughout the day
- Set your phone to beep at regular intervals and get up and move for a minute
- Make/Take all your phone calls standing up
- Move your trash can, fax, file away from your desk so you have to get throughout the day
If you are a “boss”, create a culture where getting up and walking around is encouraged, not frowned upon. Because in addition to reducing the health risks (AKA insurance costs & absenteeism), additional studies show a connection between movement and creativity, problem-solving and general cognitive function. People are just plain smarter when they Move It!
Move It doesn’t mean an hour in the gym. Simply walking around the office a few times per day will be good for you. It increases blood circulation and you oxygenate your brain. Movement increases breathing and heart rate so that more blood flows to the brain, enhancing energy production. It even feels good and reduces stress.
Move It!
Excuse me, I have to get up from my computer and Move It!
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