Remember when you were a kid at school? You had multiple stretches of physical activity during the day: morning recess, lunch time, phys-ed, afternoon recess, and even playtime after school with friends.
But as you progressed, things changed. Homework and the time you spent at school increased. The time you spent sitting rose, and your physical activity suddenly wasn’t organized or prioritized. Studying became your main focus, and the playtime after school was less about playing tag and more about going out for dinner or to a movie.
Then you entered the workforce, sitting down for a majority of your day. A sedentary lifestyle often begins here and if left unchecked, can stick with you throughout your life, sometimes leading to unhealthy consequences.
How do you fix it? Here are a few quick tips to get your blood flowing during your nine to five.
Take a Walk
In order to stay productive and healthy, go for a walk every two hours to keep your mind active.
You’ll take around 2,000 steps (100 steps per minute) if you keep up a solid pace! The oxygen you breathe in will rejuvenate you more than a cup of coffee or an energy drink, and the adrenaline you gain will help you stay focused throughout your workday.
Walking also helps you digest since it helps your body regulate sugars. If you’re thinking about your diet, try walking after a meal.
Stand up
We can’t stress this one enough. You need to move and get up during your workday. Even if you take the above-mentioned walks, sitting for the rest of the day will have negative effects. Humans were not built to sit all day long.
Standing is a sign of advancement!
When you sit, you slouch. When you slouch, you’ll start to feel a strain in your back, neck, and shoulders. Break this bad habit by standing at work for at least 10 minutes every half hour. Once you get used to this, you’ll start standing for longer periods of time without even noticing it.
Standing desks are one way to stay productive while standing at work.
Stretch it out
Staying in one position for long periods of time is hard on the body. Many 
of us suffer from joint, back and wrist pain from arthritis to carpul tunnel syndrome.
Every hour, take a few minutes to relax your muscles, change your sitting position, and stretch.
Let your eyes rest by looking away from the screen for 10-20 seconds. Stretch your arms out in front of you, hold for 15 seconds, then behind you and hold for the same. Stretch them up for another 10-20 seconds.
Do you have any tips to stay active at work? Let us know in the comments!
