Simple ways to relax at work

Reference: http://www.dumblittleman.com/2010/01/five-simple-ways-to-relax-at-work-when.html

Sitting Healthy at Your Desk Job

Did you know that over time, sitting can kill you?  Literally.  Being on your butt for more than three hours everyday should be cause for concern.  Sitting is considered a sedentary activity, the chronic engagement of which has already been linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and even cancer.  Lately, studies have also shown that a prolonged sitting habit can cause kidney disease as well.

Oh no, you say, I sit at my desk all day.  What to do?  Just because you work behind a desk almost everyday, however, does not doom you to an unhealthy future, unless you let it.  True, desk work pins you to your seat for hours on end; but, tweaking your work habits can keep you from significantly sliding into couch potato health.

Work Smart, Work Healthy

You work smart by working strategically. Why not add another dimension to your “work smart” concept by including working healthy in your career strategy?  Just think...of what use is the prize of achieving a career goal if you can not be healthy enough to enjoy it?

There are ways to offset the hazardous effects of chronic sitting by countering the effects this seemingly benign habit has on our body.  By adapting these small changes into your work lifestyle,  you will be taking concrete steps towards safeguarding your health:

• Take small breaks from sitting every hour or two
  We need to change our position often and increase physical activity, even in small spurts. So, stand, walk around, stretch, do some jumping jacks or squats...anything to deviate from sitting.  Instead of emailing or calling your colleague on the company line, why not jog up the stairs to pay him a personal visit?  If you really don’t have anywhere to go, simply just march in place.
  In addition, do some chair stretches to stretch the spine, back, neck, arms, legs, and other parts that need it.  The point here is to get your muscles and joints moving, many times throughout the day.
  
  It is also a good idea to engage in short exercise intervals using only your body weight.  This can include wall push-ups, leg extensions, toe raisers, and the like.  Exercises like these done a few times during the day puts up your heart rate and does your metabolism good.
  
  
• Set alarms for your breaks
  Oftentimes, we bury our noses in our work so much that we fail to notice just how much time we spent typing up that report.  Set alarms on your computer, cellphone, or watch to signal your breaks.  Heed them, too!  Resist the temptation of  snoozing the alarm for “just another ten minutes.”  Give in to stretching time a bit and before long, you would have chalked up over three hours of sitting time without realizing it.
  
  
• Take the stairs as much as possible
  Try getting to your work station by taking the stairs.  Walk up escalators as well.    Unless you work at the top floors of a high-rise, avoid elevators like the plague.  Besides depriving yourself of much needed physical activity, simply riding on elevators and escalators make you additionally lazy.
  
  
• Take walking lunch breaks
  Walk to lunch then back; or use half the time to eat and the other half for a little walk around the block.  This should help you towards meeting your activity quota for the working day.
  
  
• Walk, Jog, Bike to Work
  If you can,  why not increase your physical activity by pedaling, jogging, or walking off to work instead of driving to it?  Get as much movement in as you can, daily.
  
  
• Quit unhealthy snacks and sodas
  

  Take that hand off the cookie jar at snack time. Instead, bring your own healthy snacks like nuts (don’t go overboard on this), veggie sticks, and fruits.  Steer clear of the soda vending machine.  Water is a much healthier option.

  
  

  What has snacking have to do with sitting, you may ask?  Well, as sitting burns very few calories, it makes sense to limit your calorie intake as well to trim that waistline to a healthy measure.

  
  
• Get a Standing Desk
  

  If your company does not mind, get a standing desk.  Once a novelty, standing desks are beginning to replace the standard sit-down desks in many workspaces.  Although prolonged standing is also a no-no, standing is better than sitting.  Once you are on your feet, you tend to move around much more and burn more calories.  It is best of course to split your time standing and sitting; but the higher percentage of your position should be on your toes.  In this case, pair a high stool with your standing desk.

All these little tweaks, however, should not replace your hours devoted to proper exercise.  You still need to dedicate some time to cardiovascular and weight training exercises, either before or after work.  The above suggested habits should keep your muscles and joints well oiled at work and away from the unhealthy effects of a prolonged chronic sitting; but proper exercise will help  keep your entire body functioning at peak condition.