Working at a computer, I spend most of my work day sitting. By now, we’ve all heard that sitting for long periods of time is considered the “smoking of our generation.” When I started paying attention to just how much time my butt spends in a chair, I realized I needed to do something about it. It’s important for our health to get up and move around regularly throughout the day, so I developed some tips to add more activity to your sedentary life.
A Sitting Disease
Most industries these days require employees to work on a computer. Outside of work, we are turning our brains off and continuing to sit while we watch TV and look at Facebook and Instagram on our phones.
How many waking hours each week do you spend sitting? How many of those hours are consecutive?
WebMD describes a sedentary lifestyle as a sitting disease and says “A growing body of research shows that long periods of physical inactivity raise your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and obesity.”
So, what do we do?
Add More Activity to Your Sedentary Life – Get Moving at Work
I am lucky enough to have a co-worker who also understands the importance of getting up and moving during the day.
She and I try to remind each other a few times each day to get up and move. We’ll take a walk around the block together, or we’ll take a quick trip from our desks on the first floor to the third floor and re-fill our water bottles.
When I was wearing my FitBit daily, I had reminders set so that it would vibrate every hour during my work day, a great reminder to add more activity to your sedentary life.
When that reminder went off, if I wasn’t in a meeting, I got up right that second and walked a loop around the first floor. If I was on the phone, I would even just pace a little around my office.
How I Get Moving at Home
My husband and I walk the dog together every morning before work.
When I get home from work, I drive up our long driveway without stopping at the mailbox, just for an excuse to walk back down with Bentley.
I crank up the music while I’m making dinner and dance around the kitchen. I avoid watching more than an hour of TV.
Once I became aware of how sedentary my life had become, I started making a conscious effort to move more at work and at home. I hope some of my tips help you add more activity to your sedentary life, too.
Let me know in the comments if you have any ideas to add to my list!
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