Moving and raising your heartrate in brief bouts may be key to office health
By Paul Bolger. Chartered Physiotherapist at Nano Physiotherapy, Kilkenny (www.nanophysio.ie).
We often blame our desks, chairs and postures for those nagging aches we occasionally experience at work. But what if I told you that we have all been focusing on the wrong things – there is no perfect chair or desk or posture to resolve your problems!
There are other, much more useful habits that we can all easily fit into a normal day at the desk that will certainly benefit our health and may be more useful in managing achy joints and muscles.
Motion is Lotion
The most comfortable chair in the world would probably be a bad thing for your health – so comfortable it would be hard to get out of! When it comes to office health, regular bouts of movement are important.
These brief exercise bouts are sometimes called ‘microbreaks’ or ‘exercise snacks’. There are so many ways that we can all fit them into the workday. It will look different for everybody. Here are a few key considerations.
Regular – 1min every 30mins
Aim to move for least 1 minute every 30 minutes. While there will of course be times where this is not possible, this is a good target.
Set a reminder on your phone (there are lots of useful apps), computer, calendar, egg timer, or whatever works for you. A visual reminder like a note in your eyeline can help to form the habit.
Challenging – Rev your engines
Strolling to get water doesn’t cut it. We need a challenge here to kickstart our metabolism. Remember, you are trying to break the stagnant cycle of sitting.
After 30 minutes of stationary sitting, the body’s metabolism is slowing down. Moving vigorously enough to strain some muscles and raise the heart rate is like revving an engine that has been at rest or bringing flow back to stagnant water.
Roughly 1 minute is ideal here, more if you can – you could take 3-5 flights of stairs, perform some body weight exercises like squats or push-ups (against a desk if the ground is too hard), or (if you work at home, or your co-workers won’t give you too many strange looks) jog on the spot. These are just some ideas – you could literally do anything that gets that heart of yours pumping.
If you walk away feeling like you need a shower – you’ve pushed it too hard! Feeling some warmth or a ‘glow’ after a microbreak is ideal.
Movement Opportunism
Taking any opportunity for movement in your normal workday will be beneficial. Some simple options could include walking phone calls or meetings (do you have regular team meetings that don’t require sitting at a desk?).
A 10-minute walk at lunch will leave you feeling more refreshed and ready for what the afternoon brings.
Active travel like walking or cycling to and from work is another fantastic way to remain active for those able to do so (look at my previous article ‘The Secret to Daily Exercise’ on the Observer website).
If I had to choose one thing for somebody with a desk job to do at work to impact their health, it would be taking these regular microbreaks that break the cycle of stagnant sitting to rev that metabolism into life. Whatever way you can fit this into your day I have no doubt your body and mind will thank you for it!
If you have any concerns regarding your health or ability to make such a change, discussing it with a healthcare professional is advised.
