Simple Lifestyle Adjustments To Change Your Sitting Habits
Sitting all day can kill you, study finds. So here are three simple ways to change your sitting habits and improve your overall health.
Although most people know that sitting all day isn’t good for your health, did you actually know that this lifestyle factor could increase your risk of mortality?
A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found a direct relationship between sitting times and the risk of mortality. Since so many people sit for their daily jobs, these findings are worrying.
Unlike previous generations where work has been often an active environment, the modern office involves working on computers, being in meetings, and has a more sedentary component.
Although exercise benefits you, the risk still remains for people who sit for longer than 30 minutes at a time. How exactly can you change your sitting habits and combat this risk?
Three Easy Ways To Change Your Sitting Habits
There are a few ways to change your sitting habits:
1. Get A Standing Desk
Standing desks were developed exactly for this reason. They can help people stay on their feet and have a more active stance while still being productive.
In fact, many workplaces have invested in standing desks for their employees exactly for this reason.
If you already have a desk, you could use a sit stand desk. This desk can be converted from standing to sitting easily.
The benefit of this desk is that you may want to stay sitting at times during the day. This isn’t a bad habit necessarily, but you can adjust your workstation throughout the day.
2. Take Regular Breaks
It’s recommended that you take a five-minute break every hour.
For people who sit, this simply means standing up from your desk, stretching, walking quickly around the office, or some similar activity. The goal of this habit is to engage your muscles and increase blood flow.
It can be difficult for people to do this though, as it’s easily forgotten in the workday. To make sure that you stick with this habit, you may want to set an alarm or reminder for yourself.
3. Walk During Breaks
Chances are, you have a lunch break or other breaks during the day. For people who take an hour for their lunch, it’s a good idea to take a walk during that hour and avoid even more sedentary activity while eating.
You can also take a short break during the morning or afternoon and take a short walk. This can be around the office or even around the building if the weather is nice.
Many times, employees will take advantage of any walking trails in their area and take short breaks to break up their sedentary time.
These tips can help change your sitting habits and improve your overall health. While all of them give you options, the best choice is the one that will work best for your schedule.
Keep in mind that sedentary behavior can actually be much more dangerous than it seems. For this reason, make it a priority to spend less time sitting, either at work or in your free time.
If you find yourself sitting for more than 9 hours a day, try to cut back or at least take breaks and stand or walk periodically. This small change can make a big difference as the study I mentioned at the beginning of the article found.
Both at work, home, or anywhere else, use these tips to change your sitting habits and make sure that you’re not spending the majority of your time seated.