Healthy Summer: Fit more movement into your day
Sitting too long is bad for your health and your mental focus, we all know that, but what are you supposed to do when you have a desk job? According to health and wellness expert, Lisa Raleigh, it’s how you sit and for how long that really has an impact on your health and overall wellbeing.
Make some changes
To fit more movement into your day, here is Lisa Raleigh’s advice:
1. Set an alarm on your phone to vibrate every hour and remind you to get up and get moving – even if it’s to walk to the bathroom or make yourself coffee.
2. If you’re mostly office- or desk-bound, then utilise your smaller space to move. March on the spot, do jumping jacks, and focus on a few key stretches to alleviate pressure in your neck, back and shoulders.
3. Deep breathing is also excellent as it boosts the brain and stimulates blood flow and oxygen throughout the body.
4. Of course, the most ideal thing would be to have a rebounder in your office and bounce for 2 minutes every hour. This would add up to 20 minutes of exercise if you’re at the office for 10 hours. Rebounding is excellent for boosting the metabolism, burning calories, and detoxing the body through accelerated lymph drainage – which happens with every bounce. It also relieves stress and encourages deep breathing.
5. Consider your set up at work. Is it designed to support your body ergonomically? I recently invested in an innovative sit/stand desk which allows you to sit or stand whenever you need to and change positions frequently at work. It’s great because you can keep moving, support your body and get your work done! See my recent blog post, Sitting is not the new smoking.
6. Finally, consider having standing or walking meetings rather than seated meetings. There’s nothing better than walking and chatting with a coffee in-hand!
