It’s Time to Stand Up – for the Good of Your Health

I am sure I’m not the only one who is very bad at taking breaks at work. I find myself glued to my desk for 8 hours only getting up to get water or nipping to the loo!

Sitting in the same position for that long can lead to feeling tense, achy, or fatigued. It is very normal for me to have tension in my back, neck and shoulders because of this.

Research has found that short breaks throughout the day and detaching from work, increases levels of energy & decreases exhaustion.

Lockdown!

Since lockdown started back in March 2020, I have found myself sitting for much longer than I would have whilst in the office and also staring at the screen for far too many hours. This is of course my own fault as I have not created a schedule that separates work and home hours.

I was very happy when the restrictions were relaxed a little and we could start to go back to the office a few days a week as this broke up the week and I managed to separate work and home hours.

This did not last long however and lockdown was back upon us.

Time to change

I did not want to go back into the habit of sitting for long hours & was wracking my brain for a way to get moving whilst working rather than just standing up every so often.

Then a lightbulb monent hit me! I had seen someone before walking whilst working. I have followed Dr. Michael Greger for a long time as IMHO he is the God of Nutrition! Dr. Greger is an American physician, author and professional speaker on public health issues, and is best known for his advocacy of a whole-food plant-based diet.

I have watched numerous videos of him discussing Nutrition whilst he walks on a treadmill on his website Nutritionfacts.org. He walks at a pace of 2.5mph and I believe averages between 15-17 miles a day whilst working and recording the videos.

Time for action

After watching Dr. Greger’s video on Standing up for Your Health, it gave me the push I needed to put a plan of action together.

Fortunately, I already have a treadmill and luckily my laptop will sit nicely on the treadmill so absolutely no excuse not to get moving. Since the beginning of the year, I have walked on the treadmill for as long as I can fit in whilst working on my laptop.

Not everyone already has a handy treadmill, or even be able to afford a sit to stand desk but we can all make sure to take regular breaks to stand up, maybe march on the spot, stretch and move around.

I can honestly say, this has been the best thing that has come out of working from home for me! I am fitter, warmer (circulation), more awake and productive through the day and no longer have a sore neck or shoulders.

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