According to research, sitting is one of the worst things you can do for your body. Sure, it will be detrimental to your fitness, but prolonged sitting will affect your overall health and even cause certain serious conditions like heart disease, diabetes and even breast or colon cancer. So how can you maintain a healthy body and mind while also staying true to your office duties? Here are a few ways to boost your health while doing a sedentary job:
Take as many breaks as possible
Office workers don’t have to spend the entire workday seated in their chairs. Make sure to get up every hour to take a short walk to the water cooler, hydrate, use the toilet or exchange a few words with your colleagues who are doing the same. Of course, you have to respect all the deadlines for tasks and projects, but taking mini breaks will actually boost your productivity. Also, utilize your lunch break to take a more serious walk to a nice healthy lunch place.
Do some moving at the desk
You can take an even smaller break in between your hourly breaks to stretch and take in plenty of fresh air. Get up in your cubicle or office, stretch, touch your toes and do some squats to get the blood rushing all over your body. A great way to stay active while you’re sitting at the desk is to grab an under-the-desk elliptical or bicycle so you can pedal and move while taking care of routine projects and paperwork. Don’t hesitate to do anything that will move your muscles, stretch your legs and oxygenate your blood.
Have a quick massage
If you already suffer from muscle pain and discomfort due to your job, you can try to relieve it with a nice deep massage. When you have a minute or two to rest, grab your favorite handheld massager and place it on the sore and problematic spots. The vibrations and hits will bring instant relief to fatigued, stiff, sore and spastic muscles. Use your massager for 30 seconds on all problematic muscles and wave the pain goodbye. If your most problematic area is your head and eyes, an eye massager is a great investment for you since it uses heat to relax and soothe your eyes and relieve fatigue and all types of tension.
Invest in a standing desk
Alternating between standing and sitting is a great way to engage your muscles more throughout the day. It’s quite cheap to invest in a standing desk that’s easily adjustable or just grab a laptop stand that will lift up your computer. If you can’t get those, stand whenever you have time—when using the phone, taking a break, seeing your colleagues, etc.
Take the stairs
Elevators are such an integral part of our lives that we use them without thinking. Well, next time you have to see someone on the second floor or grab a package from the lobby, you should take the stairs and get some exercise. Another way to increase the number of steps you take is to park farther from the entrance—it’s a small sacrifice but it counts.
Be active before or after work
When you’re done with your workday, don’t just rush to your couch and watch TV. The activity you get at work is not enough to fix the damage caused by sitting—it’s necessary to hit the gym, do exercises before work or take a long walk after work. Find a good fitness program and try sticking to it for a few months to see how you feel.
Office work is much harder for the body than people think so make sure to invest plenty of time to activate your muscles, stretch and recover. You will feel better in every single way!
