An average person spends as many as 12 hours a day sitting. Sitting all day at work and lying down to sleep at night doesn’t leave many hours in the day for you to be physically active. Medcor’s dedicated advocates work in corporate and home offices, which is one reason our Guiding Health Principles include Move Your Body, encouraging daily physical activity for health and wellness.
Moving your body doesn’t always mean an intense workout but instead engaging in physical activity and celebrating what your body is capable of. If you are sitting at a desk most of your workday, explore any solutions your workplace offers to a sedentary lifestyle. At Medcor we promote wellness breaks, times in the workday when our advocates can take a walk or participate in group stretch breaks with coworkers.
Your employer may have standing desks available, or you could invest in a standing extension for your home desk. Standing burns 50 more calories an hour than sitting. There may be other opportunities from your employer – find out if gym membership discounts are available through your employer or if they offer discounts or rebates on fitness tracker bracelets or exercise apps.
Turn to your co-workers for ideas and support — having someone hold you accountable for how much physical activity you put into your day can be motivating and helpful. Your employer may be able to connect you with a health coach to improve your daily movement, and a coworker as an accountability buddy can also be helpful, even for small goals like this. Remind each other to stand up and stretch throughout the workday. You can challenge each other to take movement breaks and compare how you feel after incorporating more movement into your day.
For other ideas to move more throughout your workday, check out these options for “deskercising.” The benefits of regular physical activity are numerous, and even adding small periods of activity to your day can make a significant difference in your overall health. Consult your healthcare provider before beginning a new exercise regimen, especially if you have a chronic health condition. Researchers are working hard to prove the long-term benefits of sitting less. Simply standing up and adding movement to your day is your next step to getting to your healthiest self!
References
The Facts Behind ‘Sitting Disease’ and Living Sedentary | JustStand.org
