Saturday, September 1, 2012

Sitting at Your Job All Day Will Kill You. Tips to Fight Back

There are few things I hate more than sitting at a desk all day.  Report after report after report reinforces that it will kill you.

Sitting stops the electrical activity in your muscles the moment you put your booty in the chair.  If you sit six or more hours, you're at a greater risk of dying 15 years earlier than someone who sits less.  The decreased muscle activity results in a drop in your metabolism, resulting in smaller caloric burn.  In turn, enzymes that break down fat decrease as does the body's ability to control blood sugar levels.

Say you exercise.  Sorry.  That doesn't make much of a difference.  

When I'm anchoring shows for my day job, I spend a solid 7-8 hours in a chair, in front of a computer working on scripts and researching stories.  I feel the effects: sore hips, tight back, ankles and feet that fall asleep.  So I've developed a few tactics to combat the terrible effects:

-Squat while surfing the web. It might sound and look silly but squat for a minute or two at various intervals throughout the day and you will feel a burn, the good kind.
-Stand while you are on the phone.  Again: standing better than sitting.
-Take a walk break by getting some water, walking to the restroom on a different floor, talk to someone in person versus phone or email.  You get the idea.
-Stretch: just a simple cat/cow pose or pike stretch can do wonders.
-Stand, take a deep breath and arch your back, almost a full back bend with your arms raised over your head.  This is a truly invigorating move that gets blood flowing.
Here is a great infographic I found on Mashable outlining just how sitting will kill you.

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