Sitting down at your desk all day can have a real impact on your health. It has been shown to heighten blood pressure, increase fatigue and promote weight gain. With that in mind, many people who have desk jobs may find themselves in a difficult predicament – you need to work, but how do you stay fit?
Here are a few ideas to keeping fit while desk-working.
Do Some Stretches
You can do some stretches at your desk, to help keep you moving and to keep you limber during long days in the office. Web MD recommends doing stretches every half an hour to improve existing conditions, like back pain.
Get a FitBit or similar
By recording how many steps you do each day, you can aim to stay active even if you are at your desk. Your Fitbit or other step tracking device can keep you motivated by buzzing when you haven’t moved for a certain amount of time. You can go out on your lunch break and aim to do a certain number of steps. Why not link up with other colleagues in your office and make it into a competition?
Eat Well
It’s so easy to pig out on your desk with sweets, crisps and unhealthy snacks. You can easily feel hungry at your desk and reach for the bad stuff – but consider fruit as an alternative. Not only will it be much better for you, but you won’t feel stuffed or lethargic after eating it. Fruitful Office, a fruit delivery company in the UK, say that eating fruit in the workplace “enabled them to work more productively.” What’s more, if the employer provided them with the fruit, 79% of staff said the fruit made them feel more valued as an employee. You could try and persuade your employer to pay for some fruit for you! It would be a cost effective solution to obtaining some happier staff.
Do More At Home
Sometimes work is work, and you have to accept you’ll be sitting still and staring at a screen for most of the day. So, aim to do more when you get home. Think about walking to and from work as a start. If it’s too far, consider getting the bus or train at a station away from where you would normally get off, to allow you to walk for the other ten minutes. When you get home, don’t veg out – cook in the kitchen with the radio on and keep active. Many people find that if they come in from work and sit down right away, their motivation diminishes for any further activity that night. Equally, you can get up earlier in the morning and do some exercise before you even get to work.
Talk to your boss
If you really feel like you have an unhealthy time at work, and you really want to be moving around more during the day, it might be a good idea to talk to your boss. They have a duty of care towards their employees so your boss might consider more work-at-home days, later starts, flexible working or other projects for you so that you can enjoy work more and feel valued and that you are taking care of your health. If you don’t get anywhere with your boss, consider speaking to other employees and see how they feel. Collectively, you could speak to HR about your feelings.
