How to Fight off the Negative Effect of a Sedentary Workplace?

Posted by Ivan Dimitrijevic
3
Jun 13, 2016
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Modern workplaces have tremendously changed in comparison to the past. People find themselves sitting more than ever. Don’t get me wrong, technology is great – it really helped increase productivity and profits for many businesses out there, but in order to use it, a majority of people have to remain seated while they are doing their work. Sitting for extended periods of time can cause tremendous health problems. This is why it is necessary to take some action before things go bad.

Why is sitting such a problem?

Our whole bodies were created so that we could cover great distances and work in numerous different ways throughout the day. However, when the sitting trend took over, you can say that our bodies experienced a lot of shock, as they are not meant to behave in this way. So, people started gaining weight, others have various problems with their cardiovascular system, some get diabetes, where in some awful cases, people get cancer that is caused by this sedentary lifestyle. All of these things are bad, but if you get a little bit creative, you can always find a way to lower the bad effect of sitting a lot at work. Here are only few examples of what you could do.

Steps you could take while at the office


There are numerous ways in which you can fight against your sedentary workplace. Doing this is going to help you in the fight against all the bad things that can be caused by sitting all the time:

  • If you work in a modern company, chances are that you are going to have a chance to talk to your boss and ask for specific conditions in your workplace. Asking for a raised surface is a good way of preventing a poor sitting posture. A tall stool can be a perfect choice that will give you the option of switching between the standing and sitting position while you are working. This is perfect way of preventing the possible negative effects of sitting.


  • You should take advantage of all the activities that do not require computer work. So, for example, if there is some sort of a meeting, brainstorming session or if you are simply having a conversation with your colleagues, make sure to stand up and have a little walk. This is the perfect way letting your body do some work while you are communicating with your colleagues.


  • If there are no meetings or other activities you can engage in with while standing, it is really important to create a schedule that you are going to follow. Standing up for several minutes every 50 minutes is a great way of staving off the negatives effects of sitting. If you want to really take advantage of those several minutes, there are numerous online websites that offer a set of stretching exercises that will get the blood flowing through your body.


  • Focus a little bit on your posture. It takes a little bit of time to get used to the right posture, as muscles are constantly engaged. Yet, if you are persistent, after some time, your muscles become accustomed to the right posture. If you find doing this hard, there is a variety of gadgets that can help you stay focused. Setting alarms on your phone is a good way of keeping a reminder to sit in the appropriate way. On the other hand, there are posture straps that can greatly help you with keeping a good posture while you are sitting. It all comes down to what works best for you.


All these things are perfect ways of cancelling out the negative effects of sitting in the workplace. If you are looking for more motivation, there is an online calorie calculator that shows how many more calories you are spending while you are standing. The calculator also rewards you with points, so you get the feeling of progress as you invest more time standing up.

Practicing all these things will greatly improve your metabolism, blood flow and calorie expenditure. All these things are really important if you want to stay fit and healthy. So if you are one of people who are spending their time sitting in a workplace, keep in mind that you should create a plan that will let you move more, to avoid all the negative effect of sitting, or at least lower them.

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