On Your Feet Britain: Friday, 29 April
This Friday is ‘On Your Feet, Britain!’ Day; the theme this year is ‘Get up offa that thing!’, (with respect to James Brown!). The aim is to encourage those of us who work seated to get up and get active. The focus is not primarily on stimulating us to start an exercise regime, although that would be a good thing. This initiative wants us to think about regular activities that we can perform easily to break up the hours we spend sitting down as a result of the jobs we do.
There is a lot of research showing how sitting down for long periods contributes to poor health. It is estimated that 9% of preventable deaths worldwide are a result of sitting down, be it related to our work or our leisure activities. Being sedentary for too long throughout the day has been shown to contribute to the development of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers. It is also known to be implicated in poor mental health. In the workplace, it is associated with developing back, neck and upper limb problems. If you want to learn more detail about the physiological risks of sitting, view the Ted-Ed YouTube video below.
There are simple things you can do while you are working to break up the long hours of sitting. You can put an alarm on your phone to stimulate you to move. It’s suggested you do this every 30 minutes. Many people wear smart watches or activity trackers which perform the same function. All you need to do when you get the prompt is stand up, do a few stretches, take a walk to the loo, make a drink, if you’re working from home, walk to the window or garden to appreciate the view and get some fresh air. Obviously, building on this further so you are working up to the recommended minimum of 30 minutes exercise daily is a good thing. But it’s equally as important just to move, take the pressure off your musculoskeletal system and stimulate your cardiovascular system into mopping up unwanted lipids in your blood!
Go on – make an effort for one day on 29 April and see if you feel better!
‘Why It’s So Important To Be Moving Throughout Your Day’ on orthology.com
‘Why you should move — even just a little — throughout the day’ on Harvard Health Publishing
‘Why It’s Important to Move Around Throughout the Day’ on Advanced Chiropractic Rehabilitation
‘3 Ways To prevent Work-from -home Back Pain’ on orthology.com
‘Why Sitting Is Bad For You’ by Murat Daikilinc Ted-Ed on YouTube
‘Be less sedentary and move more throughout the day’ by the Canadian Cancer Society on YouTube
‘Sedentary Lifestyle Health Risks’ by Sit-Stand TV on YouTube
‘The Sedentary Lifestyle’ by Jack Morrow on YouTube
‘Desk Exercises at Work | Office Workout: Exercises at Desk While Working’ by Yashoda Hospitals, Hyderabad on YouTube