Do You Know The Damage Of Sitting All Day?

Sitting all day can sometimes be unavoidable, the fact of the matter is; it’s terrible for our bodies. And recent studies show that introducing regular exercise isn’t enough to counter the harmful effects of sitting.

The solution? Move more throughout the day.

On average, we spend between eight and thirteen hours a day sitting down. We know how important regular exercise is in order to have a healthy lifestyle, but it can be difficult adding in an hour or two of exercise after a hard day’s work.

But sitting for long periods is not only a growing cause of concern for type two diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and obesity, it also increases your cholesterol, increase muscle and joint pain, and highers your mortality risk (nearly 4 percent of all deaths in America can be traced back to sitting too much, says a study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine).

Although it’s difficult to undo any damage already caused, there are ways that you can improve your health and wellbeing while in work, and here’s how.

Make The Change

Standing – for even sporadically throughout the day – leads to more energy, focus and productivity.?Ikea?has a range of low-cost height-adjustable office desks that you can suggest to your boss at your next meeting.

Taking short breaks to stretch and walk around are equally as important as the work you’re doing, so set aside time every hour to take five and recharge your body. Set your alarm as a reminder.

Set yourself the challenge of walking 8,000 – 10,000 steps per day; that way you’ll be more inclined to get up and walk around – plus you’ll be getting some exercise time in too.

Encourage lunchtime exercise or get an office running pal. Even 30 minutes during your break, plus moving and stretching every hour will make a vast difference to your health and work life.