Sitting for long hours at work could be lethal. Men who sit for six hours or more every day have a 20% higher death rate than those who sit three hours or less. The death rate for women who like to rest their feet for more than six hours a day is 40% higher than their more agile colleagues.
Even if your sitting habits don’t lead you to the cliff and offer, they might affect your health in other ways. People who are in love with their chair face a higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, are more likely to become obese, and are more susceptible to seeing the levels of their good cholesterol to nosedive.
Fortunately, there are ways using which we can avoid these health risks. There are little changes we can introduce to our workday that will make a huge difference. In this article, I’m going to shed light on X simple ways using which all of us can become more active (and productive) at work.
#1: Increase Your Water Intake
What’s it that drinking more water has to do with being more active? Once you force your mind to grapple with this question, you’d realize the answer lies in the bathroom. That’s right; as your water intake will go up, so will your trips to the loo. The resulting act of sitting up, walking to relieve yourself, and coming back to your chair will inevitably make you more active.
#2: Prefer stairs over lifts
Whether you live in a multi-story building, purchase your phone charger station from multi-floor shopping malls or have an office on the tenth floor, always take the stairs route. As long as you aren’t running out of breath, adding stairs to your daily routine will increase your step count.
#3: Add walking to your commute
As long as it isn’t freezing out there, get off the tube or the bus a few blocks away from your office. Then cover the rest of the distance on your feet. If you drive to the office, try to park your car as far away from your office’s entrance as possible. This way, you’d be able to take an extra walk in the morning as well as the evening.
#4: Organize mobile meetings
Is there a work-related issue that you need to discuss with your coworker? There’s no reason why the resulting meeting should take at your or their desk. You both can discuss the matter while walking through the hallway during the workday.
#5: Go outside during lunch break
There are no rules which dictate you to have your lunch at your desk. Even if you bring your lunch from home, you can walk to the canteen during the 1-hour break. Provided there’s a park in the vicinity of your office and the weather isn’t being rude, you can go there to enjoy your meal amid nature.
#6: Reorganize your desk
Make sure that the charging station for phones is at such a height that you can’t access it while sitting on your chair. Install an extra shelf at a height that would force you to stretch your arms to get those crucial files without which you can’t get work done. These little ‘tricks’ will force you to become more active without having to beat yourself for the same.