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5 Ways to Offset Too Much Sitting: Get a Move on a Few Simple Strategies to Avoid Health Risks
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Get your blood flowing by taking a break from sitting at your desk! Closer shares five methods to help offset too much sitting.
Break It Off: “Aim to take a movement break once every half hour,” suggest the folks at GoodRx. “A five-minute break is ideal, but even moving for a couple of minutes helps. If you’re in a set workspace, you can get up and walk around your home or office. If you work from home, you can do a quick chore, like watering the plants or doing some dishes.”
Squeeze Play: According to experts at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center: “During times when you can’t get up and move around, even just squeezing the muscles of the core, hips and legs for a few repetitions will get those muscles activated and help get the blood circulating.”
Desk Set: “If possible, switch to a standing desk or a desk converter to allow for a mix of sitting and standing throughout your workday,” say experts at Baptist Health South Florida. Sitting or standing too long can have adverse affects on circulation.
Stretch Out: Getting up to stretch things out is a good idea. And the one-arm doorframe stretch is a good place to start. Per CNN Health, it “provides relief of tension in your chest muscles and the front of your shoulders that come from slumping in a seated position. Standing and facing an open doorway, place a forearm on the doorframe with your elbow bent to 90 degrees at shoulder height. Rotate your body away from your arm until you feel a stretch in the front of your chest. Hold for three long, deep breaths.”
Drink Up: Per the University of Washington’s UW Medicine, “If you find it hard to remember to take breaks, drinking water will remind you to move because you will need to get up to go to the bathroom. Not only does this keep you hydrated, it forces you to stretch your legs instead of falling into the trap of remaining seated for the entire workday.”
