Did you know that exercise and diet don’t stop you from dying at your desk?
We all know there have been countless articles about how we are dying at our desk from Harvard to WebMD, NBC, Time, Huffington Post, and the list goes on…
CNN just posted an article a couple of months ago though talking about how exercise and diet don’t cut it and do not make up for the fact that we are sitting all day. Neither do stand up desks. Or, let me rephrase that…stand up desks are great, but DO NOT STAND ALL DAY! There are risks in that also. You can increase joint strain, varicose veins and back pain if you stand all day.
Depending on the number of hours you are sitting (typically around 6-12), your risk of heart disease, prostate or breast cancer, high blood pressure, depression and type 2 diabetes increases by 60-125%.
So, is there a solution?
YES!
What is it?
You MUST take small breaks throughout the day. Anywhere from 1-5 minute breaks every hour. Some studies say every 30 minutes, but most say every hour, so I like to go with the latter as I think it’s more attainable.
Getting up and walking around, doing light stretching or even breathing exercises and meditations are good ways to give yourself a break mentally and physically. We get distracted and it’s hard for us to focus, so you will be more productive, less stressed and do your body and mind a huge favor by choosing to take these breaks and it just might save your life!
Need some help?
To get you started, I’ve created a YouTube channel that provides short breaks that consist of light stretching, breathing exercises and coaching tips to get you reset, re-energized and re-engaged. It’s called Daily Reset Break, but feel free to follow along with multiple breaks throughout your day.
Daily Reset Break YouTube Channel
It doesn’t matter if you are not working in an office all day, the same goes for stay at home moms and retirees. Pay attention to how long you sit each day and please make sure that you take breaks.
Take good care of your beautiful self!
Photo credit: Hal Samples