Many of us spend more time sitting than sleeping. The majority of our waking moments are on the couch, in an office chair, or in a car. I’ve read multiple things about the fact that this is not good for you, but never really acted to this. I have an office job and a quite active live, but I can definitely sit behind the desk for hours and hours. So I wanted to change this and tried something new!
A few of the many facts to why sitting for a longer period is so bad for your health:
- Right after you sit down, the activity in your muscles slows down and your calorie-burning rate drops.
- Sitting for over six hours a day for a longer period can take away seven years of quality life.
- It increases your risk of dying on heart disease by 64%.
You only need to do two simple things to counter the effects of sitting all day:
- Remember to stand once an hour.
- Get about 30 minutes of activity per day.
Taking short breaks from sitting once an hour can take away most of the problems above. You do not necessarily need to work-out (of course this has other great benefits as well!), but simple stand-ups and movement during the day will give your body the possibility to stretch and let your blood flow.
You can break up that thirty minutes throughout the day.
- Park near the back of the parking lot.
- Stand up to visit the file cabinet instead of rolling your chair.
- Walk over and talk to a colleague instead of emailing.
The second part is much simpler and only requires you to stand up now and again. Here what I have tried and works easy without effort!
Set an Hourly Standing Alarm to Remind You to Stand
I use an app called ‘Stand-Up‘. It is free and very easy to use. It will remind you every hour to stand up. You can also use the timer or clock function on your phone for this. Do it during your meetings and inspire others to join you as well!
Source: Lifehacker.com.