How You CAN Be Healthy, Even If You Sit All Day At Work

6/18/2019

Did you see the headlines a few years ago stating that "sitting is the new smoking?"

Researchers looked at the health risks of sitting for hours at a time, and concluded that if you sit all day, your risk of dying was the same as that of a smoker.

While those headlines might have a grain of truth, according to researchers who published a new study in the American Journal of Public Health have shown that while sitting isn't great for you, it's definitely not as bad as smoking! Reference

Sitting more than eight hours a day does increase your risk of premature death and developing some chronic diseases by as much as 10 to 20 percent, but it's nowhere near the same as smoking, which boosts the risk of early death by 180%.

Here's the even better news: if you must sit a lot, there are some things you can do to offset the risk of developing diseases related to being sedentary.

Be as active as possible when you're NOT sitting.

At work, go for walks or move around during your breaks. When you're not at work, get up and move!

Researchers found that the risks of excess sitting, could be mostly offset by getting about an hour of moderate to vigorous exercise every day. While this might not be possible for you every day, achieving this 3 - 4 times per week will definitely help!

Gardening, playing sports, or engaging in active hobbies will also help.

Tips for reducing your risk while you are at your desk

Hint: these tips will also increase your productivity!

Get up and walk around as frequently as possible, or set your timer for 50 minutes, so that you get up and stretch (or walk around) at least once an hour.
Make sure you stay hydrated! Drink water. Bonus: you might have to make more trips to the bathroom. : )
Check that your chair is set to the right hight and supports you properly.
Be mindful of your posture while sitting.
Take walking meetings. If you're discussing a project with a coworker, take the meeting outside for a quick walk. This can also encourage creativity.

Your body needs and craves movement and the more you move, the more you'll want to move.

4 Stretches for avoiding the aches and pains from sitting too long.

Sitting too long can also take a toll on your posture. There's even a name for it: kyphosis.

Kyphosis is when you develop posture that leads to a forward head, rounded shoulders, back pain, muscle stiffness, and pain in your neck. It can even affect muscles around your hips and glutes.

Try these exercises a few times a day because preventing kyphosis is much easier than fixing it!

Keyboard Stretch

If you spend a lot of time at a computer, this one's important. If this stretch causes any pain, back and work tome small improvements.

Stand tall at the edge of your desk. Place your fingers on the edge of your desk so that your fingers are facing you, your forearms are facing away. (Palms are not touching the desk yet).
Being careful not to lock your elbows, with good posture slowly start to lean forward and drop your palms to the surface of the desk. You should feel a stretch along your forearms and wrist. If this causes pain, back off the stretch slightly.
Hold for 20-30 seconds. Do this one to three times.

Standing Stretch

Stand behind your desk, your right hand on your chair for balance.
Bend your left knee and grip your left ankle behind you with your left hand, slowly bringing your heel untoward your left glute muscle.
Tighten your glute muscles so you don't arch your back -- this will also intensify the stretch.
Try to bring your knees together while maintaining an upright posture, and hold the stretch for 30 seconds. Repeat on the other side.

Seated Stretch

Sit tall in your chair, both feet flat on the floor.
Keeping your right foot on the floor, bend your left knee and place your left ankle on your right thigh, just above the knee, so that your legs form the top of the number 4.
Remain sitting tall as you keep your left foot flexed, and slowly press your left knee gently downward, feeling a stretch in the outer part of your left hip. You can lean forward gently for extra fun.
Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on the other side.

Upper Body Stretch

Standing tall, abdominal muscles braced, bend forward from the hips (not the waist) so that your upper body bends forward, toward your thighs. Let your arms hang in front of you as you relax to feel a stretch in your hamstring muscles.
Take a few deep breaths and re-engage your abdominal muscles, standing tall as you reach our arms out to your sides until they are shoulder height. As you do this, rotate your thumbs backward so your palms face up.
As you feel the front part of your body stretch, tighten your gluten to protect your back and imagine your thumbs pointing at each other behind you. Stop if you feel pain, but you should feel the muscles of your upper back "pinch" together.
Hold for a few breaths, and repeat this exercise 5 times.

I hope these tips help and as I said above, if your body feels good, then your mind will...and you'll be more productive!

Consistency is the key! Over time, you'll notice that it becomes easier to sit tall throughout the day, and nagging pains may go away.

Keeping a strong back, core, and shoulders will help you avoid posture issues as you get older.

Learn the three stages of strengthening your core in my free ebook: Restore Your Core by clicking the button above!

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