KEEPING ACTIVE AT YOUR OFFICE JOB

Whether you’re trying to be healthy, or you just feel agitated from sitting at your desk for too long – keeping active whilst working in an office can be tough.

Once it gets to 5pm and you have to do the commute home, it’s difficult to conjure up the energy to do a workout, or even go for a walk (especially in this cold and dark weather!)

That’s why finding ways to stay active during your work hours can not only be great for your schedule, but also for your health.

WHY?

Maybe you go to the gym a couple times a week after work, so you assume staying active during work hours isn’t that important for you… think again.

According to Medical News Today, excessive sitting is linked with various health issues, whilst also having an impact on stress levels and wellbeing. So, that 45-minute HIIT session may not be enough to ensure your body is staying healthy. There’s actually a term for this: ‘actively sedentary’ – people who exercise for an hour a day but are sedentary – inactive – for the other 23 hours.

Before you start stressing that you have to up your exercise to two or even three hours a day – that’s not what this means. This means that rather than thinking ‘being active’ is exercise, think ‘being active’ is moving. Whether that’s walking or stretching – we need to do more of it.

Not to mention, finding ways to incorporate activity into your day-to-day can encourage you to adopt a healthy lifestyle, rather than setting unrealistic goals that are hard to maintain with work and personal commitments.

You’re busy – I get it! So let’s find ways to ensure you keep moving AND have time for your schedule.

HOW?

Here are a few things you can try out whilst at the office to ensure you’re moving

1. Cycle or walk to work

   Or, if you live too far to walk the whole way, you could try getting off one or two stops earlier!

2. Take the stairs

   I know, no one likes stairs, but this is a fantastic way to get your legs moving during the day.

3. Take regular moving breaks

   Whether it’s getting up more frequently to get a glass of water, or saying hi to a colleague on the other side of the office – this is a great way to ensure you’re not stuck in one place all the time.

4. Take an active lunch break

   This doesn’t have to mean going to the gym, it could mean a gentle walk around the area or some window shopping.

5. Stretch at your desk every 30 minutes

6. Walk around when on the phone

   In a job where you take regular calls? Use that time to stand up and walk about.

HOW MOVING HELPS YOU MENTALLY

We’ve spoken a lot about physical health, but what about your mental health? Office jobs can be stressful and it’s easy to get too caught up with completing deadlines or sending emails that you forget to take a breather and think about other things.

In a recent study, Just Eat for Business found:

• 36% of office workers are skipping more lunch breaks than last year

• 43% of workers report feeling burnt out at work

They also discovered that those who reported feeling burnt out, 46% of them don’t stop looking at their screens until the end of the day.

This is a clear depiction that people are struggling to prioritise their mental wellbeing at work, but one way to help this is through keeping active.

The Mental Health Foundation states that:

“Being active releases chemicals in your brain that make you feel good - boosting your self-esteem and helping you concentrate as well as sleep well and feel better.”

There are many other benefits you can see here.

This doesn’t just apply to your life outside of work – but in it too. Staring at a screen all day can become mentally draining and the good thing about moving is that you get away from the screen, the deadlines, and the constant noise.

Just like the tip about getting outside on your lunch break, research shows that being in nature can make us feel happier – even if it’s just seeing a few trees!

And all of this won’t only benefit you personally, but professionally. Studies show it can drastically improve productivity and time management. So, a win-win!

- Written by Tim Macmillan

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