Health experts round the world have come out with prescriptions to beat this slow-killer. Pioneer Health brings you a report
Sitting is the new smoking,” declares health guru James A levine. Close to 65 percent of health issues across the working communities of the globe arise due to what is called “chair addiction”. The 9am-5pm- and-beyond syndrome of sitting at a stretch, has given fodder to an entire community of chronic diseases ranging from bad backs and arthritis to diabetes and hypertension.
But the good news is that beating the office blues requires little effort. Whatever your work pressure, there’s always the little window you can open to keep yourself reasonably fit. An average adult spends a whopping 50 to 70 per cent of the day sitting, not just at work but while driving, eating, talking or just hanging out. Says Delhi based fitness trainer Ajit Bansal who has long been leading the corporate world out of the haze of inactivity with his moves: “Even if you have no time or inclination for a gym, or a morning walk, you can weave in some physical activity into your work day. Keeping your body moving and your blood flowing makes for a healthy brain and a happy mood which, in turn, gives a boost to your work capacities.”
You don’t like exercisingIJ Too boring, too stressful for your keep-the- body-cushioned comfort scheduleIJ No worries, check the set of exercises below that will fuel your energy just as a bar of chocolate does. And this may even increase productivity up to 22 per cent.
No morning walks, no problem. You may not know this but you do have enough time to walk during busy office hours. Avoid picking up a phone to talk shop with a colleague sitting across the office. Just walk to his table and walk back. Blood circulation improves and flow of ideas too. Try it.
A top-paid CEO of a garments multinational based in Gurugram, never takes out his swish car. He takes the metro to the nearest station and then walks to his office. His employees joke about it and even accuse him of being a miser. But they also acknowledge that he has a refreshing spring in the step and has always been a smiles-and- solutions man. His adviceIJ Try not to drive to office. Walk if it is round the corner, cycle if it is three or four blocks away or use public transport instead of a chauffeur-driven car.
You could seriously have a ball in office. Here’s how. Instead of slumping into your chair like deadwood, sit on an exercise ball. These inflatable balls encourage you to balance and maintain a healthy posture, using your core muscles to keep you sitting up straight, and as a consequence, paying attention. A Harvard study indicated that schoolchildren who studied while balancing on such balls were less distracted, more focused on the project at hand and enjoyed improved overall health and productivity.
More and more modern companies are going in for ‘walking meetings’. Taking a short talk-walk in the office premises, according to research, stimulates out-of- the-box thinking, generates more productive ideas and gets rid of distraction. Believe it or not, short two-person huddles or even group meetings on the feet to discuss agenda, policy or strategy, may contribute close to 40km of walking in a week – in a regular office situation.
A top ranking CEO of a TV network has a spartan penthouse office where the only furniture in the room is a chairless high table in the middle of the sprawling room and sofa in the corner. He works out of his table standing and moves around his office for the bulk of his work hours; he uses the sofa only for small rest breaks. More and more companies are promoting stand-ups for health reasons. A standing desk takes care of the ‘sitting duck’ problem, so it is time to throw your chair out. Alternatively, try getting a treadmill desk installed in your cabin and see how many calories you can burn at work. As per a recent study, ‘treadmill desks’ increased productivity of the average worker after they got used to it.
Then there is this entire healthy world evolving around ‘deskercises’. So, if you do not have time to walk or your colleagues are unwilling to join you for a meeting stroll, there’s always your desk and chair to help you out of your stationary stupor, that too without wasting any of your valuable time. Staring into your comp for a long timeIJ Just blink and roll your eyeballs 10 times, close your eyes for 10 seconds and resume work. While working, rotate your shoulders clockwise and anti-clockwise five times each. You will feel the blood flow and your energy surge up. In the next batch, merely stretch your legs to a 90 degrees position and back 10 times while sitting and working. Next, rotate your ankles for a few minutes. For the much abused wrists, take some mouse-breaks and go for the exercise ball-squeeze.
Chair yoga is catching up too with several corporates incorporating exercise breaks in their HR initiatives. like coffee breaks and bathroom breaks, several leading MNCs are pushing their employees to be in motion with exercise breaks. A New York-based company gives freebies to employees who register for a deep breathing exercise break in place of a coffee break. laughing, deep-breathing and even interacting can put you back into the groove of a thinking individual with loads of positive energy.
Working on fitness is all a matter of attitude. If you think and know that it is critical you will make time for it everyday, no matter what.