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Spending a minimum of eight hours a day in front of the computer screen working, to which we have to add a couple of hours more watching television or playing video games, can give us an idea of why sedentary lifestyle is a growing problem in our society.
Are you one of those who do not get up from the chair all day? In this article, we tell you what are the consequences that this can have on your body and on your health and what you can do to stay in shape at a desk job.
Hours and hours of sitting job: this affects your body.
When you spend a lot of time sitting, whether working in office or in our leisure time doing activities that we like (such as watching a movie on TV or playing video console) directly affects the quality of our health, raising the risk of suffering certain diseases.
Sedentary is a growing problem in our society.
A sedentary lifestyle also favors greater resistance to insulin (which can increase the risk of suffering from the metabolic syndrome and other diseases such as diabetes) and the risk of having a higher blood pressure. According to American Heart Association, if you want to prevent cardiovascular diseases, it is recommended to avoid a sedentary lifestyle. Regular exercise can avoid problems related to the heart and circulatory system.
All these factors are related to what is the biggest epidemic we are living in our days: obesity and overweight.
A study just published in the Annals of Internal Medicine (September, 2017) tells us about the relationship between sedentary lifestyle and increased risk of death in older adults. This study relates to an increased risk of death not only the fact of spending many hours sitting, but also not taking small breaks during that long time we spent sitting.
Spending many hours sitting and the eternal back pain
People who spend a lot of time sitting throughout the day always complaint about back pain in the lower back, better known as lumbago.
Every day employees around the globe spend an average of almost five- eight consecutive hours sitting at a desk. After a busy day at work, all good intentions to go to the gym or take a jog are often broken.
How to stay in shape by working in the office?
Performing enough physical activity throughout the day can be difficult, especially if you work full-time, but there are various ways to stay in shape at a desk job.
By following some simple exercises to do in the office, you will see that you will be able to increase your fitness even in the workplace without too much effort.
We need to move more in our day to day is the first step towards a life away from a sedentary lifestyle. The truth is that we can do many things to be more active in our day to day, but it is also a good idea to implement them little by little so that they become part of our lifestyle and do not become only specific changes that we bring out for a month.
Start the day with a little exercise
start moving from early in the morning will not take much time (about ten minutes are enough) and you will experience great benefits such as the production of endorphins from early in the day and the de-numbing of your muscles after eight hours of night rest. Put your alarm ten minutes before and spend that time doing some mobility exercises for your joints or a few repetitions of the yoga sun salutation: you do not need much space and your body will thank you.
Walk or bike to work
Walk to your work or use an alternative means of transport such as a bicycle: a bicycle can be a good investment if we talk about urban mobility. If you prefer to walk, you can get off the metro or bus a couple of stops before your destination to add steps in your day to day.
Choose the stairs instead of the elevator
If you go to work by subway, a good gesture to start moving a bit more is to leave the escalators and opt for the traditional ones. Also at home or at work, say goodbye to the elevator and choose stairs, even if it’s only a couple of floors (if you have to go up to the sixth floor, maybe you want to start walking up only until the second, and then go increasing the floors). This will help you improve the circulation of your legs and do some aerobic exercise.
Make your smart watch or mobile your allies
Experts recommend that we should get up from our chair every two hours or so for a short walk that we can invest in going to talk to that partner who owes us a report (instead of calling him on the phone) or going to snack on something healthy by mid-morning. If you are someone who is completely abstracted once you sit in the chair, a good idea may be to set an alarm on your watch or on your mobile that tells you it’s time to move. If you have a smart watch, most of them have a “movement reminder” function that invites you to move every so often.
Keep a correct posture while sitting
f you are going to spend a lot of time sitting, at least, sits in a good position. Make sure your back is straight (always respecting the natural curvature of your spine) and resting on the back of the chair. The height of the chair should allow you to support both feet on the floor (avoid crossing one leg over the other) and keep your knees at an angle close to ninety degrees.
Do some stretching in your own desk chair
you do not need to go to the gym to loosen up your muscles, but you can do it at your own desk. Interlace your hands and stretch your arms pushing forward to stretch the upper area of your back, and performs a mobilization of the neck (slowly so you do not dizzy) to the sides and drawing circles to loosen the area. To improve the circulation of the legs, it is best to get up for a little walk.
Exercise while you work
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In your leisure time, take the opportunity to move more
The culture of “marathons” is getting stronger, and it is something that many of us love. If you are one of those who stay stuck to the sofa should take the opportunity to move and stretch. So, in addition, you will change your position on the sofa and you will not let it “catch you”.
Of course, integrating physical exercise into our daily routine and eating a healthy diet will also be very helpful in avoiding the consequences that can be left in our bodies in the short and long term by spending many hours sitting.
Originally posted 2018-12-06 22:25:49. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
