Many of you are reading this article from a seated position at work or at school. Many of you will be sitting in that chair for hours to come, just working away even though we know you’d rather be out on the beach playing volleyball!
“We were built to move,” Steven Conway, Ph.D., a chiropractor and attorney in Athens, Wisconsin, and a spokesperson for the American Chiropractic Association, tells The Huffington Post. “The non-moving is the hardest thing on us.” In fact, many are referring to “sitting as the new smoking of our generation.” So how do we fix this?
Change Your Desk
Consider investing in a standing workstation and cutting your sitting time by half. The act of standing allows the body to adjust and move easily and helps to keep your blood circulating well. Standing while you work gives you more energy and keeps your mind alert – not to mention it’s a lot more difficult to become sleepy at a desk if you are standing.
Walk More Frequently
Instead of meeting in the conference or study room, grab your notes and go for a walk. Moving around will boost your energy, clear your mind, and will help to decompress your spinal discs. Your back will thank you for it later, guaranteed. Do your best to take the stairs, and when you take phone calls, get up and walk around.
S T R E T C H
We know it seems like a selfish way to use your time, but taking a few minutes to stretch every few hours will improve your daily productivity. You don’t need to get crazy – just choose a few simple stretches to elongate your back, stretch your hamstrings and improve rotation around the joints. Your colleagues or friends might laugh – but you’ll be the one laughing later. If you are having trouble remembering to stretch throughout the day, set a timer.
Replace your Desk Chair With an Exercise Ball
You’ve heard it before, but we’ll remind you. Working from an exercise ball a great way to strengthen the abdominal region and the muscles that flank the spinal column. There are many new ball designs that are actually meant for the office space, so do some research and find one that suits you.
