Part of sustaining a healthy lifestyle is making sure that your body stays active. In fact, experts recommend that you should walk at least 1000 steps a day – something that seems so easy to achieve.
Unfortunately, many of us have no choice but to sit on a desk for most of our adult years, as most jobs require from 9 to 5. This makes it difficult for most adults to meet the recommended levels of daily physical activity, which can lead to some serious health problems later in life.
But how exactly serious are the consequences of a sedentary lifestyle?
The Health Risks of a Sedentary Lifestyle
According to the World Health Organization, a sedentary lifestyle is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide, after high blood pressure, smoking, and high blood glucose. It is estimated that physical inactivity is behind 3.2 million deaths per year, along with 670,000 premature deaths (below the age of 60). It is also estimated to be the cause of breast cancer, colon cancer, diabetes, and ischaemic heart diseases.[1]
But how exactly does physical inactivity become deadly?
First, when you’re sitting, not much calories are burned (around 60 to 130 calories an hour) as compared to standing (100 to 200 calories an hour). Thus, if you’re sitting for long periods of time, you’re burning less calories than what you’re probably consuming, making you more likely to gain weight. You also burn less fats this way, which can clog up your arteries especially if you’re not eating healthy. [2]
Because your muscles won’t be used as much, it will start to lose strength and endurance. In fact, even just two weeks of inactivity will make a person lose a significant among of muscle activity. One of the muscles that will be badly affected by inactivity is the heart; it will become weaker, making you prone to high blood pressure and poor blood circulation.
Physical inactivity also causes inflammation as a result of visceral fat accumulation. Eventually, this chronic inflammation in your body may lead to type 2 diabetes, metabolic disorders, and other chronic diseases.[3]
So how exactly do you prevent this when you’re inevitably held back by the constraints of your office job?
How to Stay Active at Work
If you’re looking to improve your lifestyle, it’s never too late to switch up your routine even while you’re working. Even if you make time on the weekends exercising, the negative effects of a sedentary 9 to 5 will still offset the progress from your workouts.
Thankfully, most of these tips won’t take much of your time. With patience and mindful repetition, you’ll find that these habits will come naturally in your daily grind.
Here are some simple ways you can stay active at work:
- Walk to work
Instead of taking the bus or driving to work, walking to work instead will make a huge difference.
When you’re driving, you’re still considered in an inactive state, no matter how stressful it can be.
When you’re walking, you will actually burn more calories simply by exerting more effort in moving your muscles. Depending on the speed and your body mass, a person is estimated to burn 232 calories walking within one hour. More calories will be burnt if you’re walking on steeper inclines or if you’re brisk walking.
According to research, walking for even just 30 minutes a day can reduce the likelihood of developing coronary heart disease. It can also improve cholesterol profile, stabilize blood pressure, and prevent osteoporosis.[4]
Walking is also a certified mood booster: regular physical activity is linked to better mental well-being, studies find. So if you’re looking to start the day on a positive note, walking to work is a great idea to achieve that.[5]
- Have standing meetings
Meetings are an essential to keep a team productive. But usually, meetings are done in a room with a large table where everyone can sit on and listen to each other, which can go on for hours.
This period of inactivity and stress can be bad for your health especially when it happens frequently.
Instead, you can opt for standing meetings. It may sound like such a simple solution, but research has shown that standing meetings are more efficient and focused compared to hours-long meetings that are spent sitting down. [6]
So not only will you burn more calories, but your team will actually achieve more – a win-win for everyone in the workplace!
- Wear comfortable clothes
Another way to make sure you’re staying active is to wear loose and comfortable clothes. After all, it’s hard to move around when you’re wearing uncomfortably hard shoes and fitted clothes.
If your workplace dress code allows it, you can start by wearing sneakers, t-shirts, and loose joggers to allow maximum movement. But if you’re required to wear formal attire, you can instead splurge on high-quality shoes and clothes that are made of breathable material. If you’re going to wear them five times a week, why not invest in good material?
- Use a standing desk
Standing desks have become more popular recently and many workplaces have begun implementing standing desks for the sake of their employees’ wellbeing.
Lots of research encourages the use of standing desks, as the small change between standing and sitting can make a huge difference in terms of health and productivity.
Firstly, standing desks significantly reduce the chances obesity and weight gain. After all, you lose more calories when standing – 170 calories, to be exact – than if you’re confined to sitting on your desk all day. This also means that standing desks can reduce the risk of heart disease, as blood sugar levels were found to be much better among those who do standing-based office work.[7]
Standing desks can also improve your mood, as it was found that people who used standing desks had lesser stress levels and reduced back and neck pain.[8]
- Have your lunch break outside
Instead of ordering takeaway or have another coworker bring lunch for you, try utilizing your lunchbreak as an opportunity to go outside – whether it is to volunteer to bring lunch to your coworkers, or you can also invite them to eat outside with you.
This way, you’ll be walking as much as you can during office hours. You’ll benefit from the fresh air and the Vitamin D supplied by the sun, as well!
- Always go for the stairs
When possible, always take the stairs especially if you won’t be climbing that high.
Stairs are a great cardio exercise as it requires to exert even more energy than just walking. In fact, it’s sometimes used as an exercise routine, as one of the best and inexpensive ways to burn fat. Aside from being great for heart health, it can also shape your thighs, calves, buttocks, and stomach. It also promotes bone health, too!
It may be tiring at first, but once you do it regularly, your muscles will eventually build enough strength that it will gradually feel less taxing on your body.
- Take short breaks in between work times
Your designated lunch breaks may not be enough to compensate for the hours you’ve spent sitting on your desk.
If your work allows it, you can set a timer to remind yourself that you should take a 5 to 10-minute break in the middle of working within 30-minute intervals. This reminder will be helpful, as you may get so fixated in your task that you begin to ignore your body’s needs.
Within that short break, take your time to turn away from your screen, hydrate, and pace around your work area to get your muscles and blood flow going. Regularly implementing these short breaks will help you clear your mind, manage your stress levels, and will improve your energy levels throughout the day.
- Record your daily steps
A crucial part of having an active lifestyle is tracking your progress to be aware of your physical activity.
One way to see how your doing is to track how many steps you’ve taken, which is a feature available in most smartphones and smart watches.
According to research, adults should at least achieve 10000 steps in one day – this is a good enough measure for your physical activity. In one study, 38 overweight or obese adults participated in a program wherein they were required to walk 10000 steps daily within a span of 36 weeks. Results showed that these adults lost a significant amount of weight, as well as body fat percentage, waist circumference, and high-density lipoprotein.[9]
By setting this goal for yourself daily, you can push yourself to move more, and maybe even inspire you to take an extra brisk walk after office hours.
Conclusion
Although regularly exercising is great for maintaining your physical health, the negatives of a sedentary office job might be more than the progress you believe you’re making.
To curb the dangers of sitting for prolonged hours, there are plenty of ways that you can switch up your office routine to promote an active lifestyle even while you’re at work.
By staying active in the office, you’ll have better cardiovascular and bone health that can prevent life-threatening diseases in the future. You’ll also get an extra energy boost from staying active, which will also have a positive effect on your productivity.
References
[1] New physical activity recommendations for reducing disease and prevent deaths. (2015, December 21). Retrieved July 26, 2020, from https://www.who.int/chp/media/news/releases/2011_2_physicalactivity/en/
[2] Health Risks of an Inactive Lifestyle. (2020, January 09). Retrieved July 26, 2020, from https://medlineplus.gov/healthrisksofaninactivelifestyle.html
[3] Burini, R. C., Anderson, E., Durstine, J. L., & Carson, J. A. (2020). Inflammation, Physical Activity, and Chronic Disease: An Evolutionary Perspective. Sports Medicine and Health Science. doi:10.1016/j.smhs.2020.03.004
[4] Rippe, J. M. (1988). Walking for Health and Fitness. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 259(18), 2720. doi:10.1001/jama.1988.03720180046031
[5] Rasciute, S., & Downward, P. (2010). Health or Happiness? What Is the Impact of Physical Activity on the Individual? Kyklos, 63(2), 256–270. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6435.2010.00472.x
[6] Danquah, I. H., & Tolstrup, J. S. (2020). Standing Meetings Are Feasible and Effective in Reducing Sitting Time among Office Workers—Walking Meetings Are Not: Mixed-Methods Results on the Feasibility and Effectiveness of Active Meetings Based on Data from the “Take a Stand!” Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(5), 1713. doi:10.3390/ijerph17051713
[7] Buckley, J. P., Mellor, D. D., Morris, M., & Joseph, F. (2014). Standing-based office work shows encouraging signs of attenuating post-prandial glycaemic excursion. Occupational and environmental medicine, 71(2), 109–111. https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2013-101823
[8] Pronk, N. P., Katz, A. S., Lowry, M., & Payfer, J. R. (2012). Reducing occupational sitting time and improving worker health: the Take-a-Stand Project, 2011. Preventing chronic disease, 9, E154. https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd9.110323
[9] Schneider, P. L., Bassett, D. R., Thompson, D. L., Pronk, N. P., & Bielak, K. M. (2006). Effects of a 10,000 Steps per Day Goal in Overweight Adults. American Journal of Health Promotion, 21(2), 85–89. https://doi.org/10.4278/0890-1171-21.2.85
