How Sitting at a Computer Impacts Your Health (and What You Can Do About It) - CareerMetis.com

How Sitting at a Computer Impacts Your Health (and What You Can Do About It) We’ve all heard of the caveman diets and know that we are supposed to be spending our days running around from sabre-toothed tigers like our cave-dwelling ancestors in order to have our fittest ketogenic-styled beach-body… Or something like that.?But, when you fast forward to today, where the vast majority of us spend nine to ten hours a day sitting down; how on earth are we supposed to get even a fraction of the workout that we’re after?evalFirst,sitting was the new smoking, and thensitting definitely wasn’t the new smoking.Now, we’re all very confused and I’m probably going to start shopping for a newergonomic laptop holderbecause the least you can do is take care of your spine and posture is still important â€" right??No matter where you stand We humans were not made for sedentary lifestyles. And yet, for many of the developed nations, obesity is becoming quite the problem. On average, we spend a heck of a lot of time sitting down and not a lot of time working out.?Whi le we cannot escape the fact that for a lot of us, work equals sitting at a computer, we should do whatever we can to offset the potential health risks.Sitting for a long period of time usually results in some pretty gnarly posture problems, and it’s common for a lot of people tosit with their shoulders hunchedand their backs in some kind of weird question-mark shape. Some people get strained shoulders, sore backs and chronic neck issues.?Sitting down puts a lot more pressure on your back than standing up and it’s important to combat potential issues with posture, alignment and your overall health before they become a bigger problem down the track.What you can do to help yourself and your healthevalYou need to make sure that you are taking the time to care for your back every day. After all, your back is the large area that suffers and bears the majority of yourpain with poor postureproblems.1. Light StretchingTake five minutes every two hours and make sure that you are taking t he time to perform some light stretches at your desk. Simply stand in your place, and stretch each arm, shoulder, wrist and your neck. Hold each stretch for 30 seconds for each side, and then make sure you take a walk around.2. Drink plenty of waterHydration is key to a healthy workplace environment for yourself. And when you think about all the extra trips to the water cooler to keep your bottle topped up it’s a no brainer â€" the extra exercise is great for your posture.3. Stay active outside workWhile it’s great to drink water and stretch at your desk the real benefits come from you staying active outside work. You need to be moving for at least 45 minutes to an hour each day and getting your heart rate up and active.evalYou’ll soon feel the benefits andenjoy the endorphins and other chemicalsfrom working out that follow you around.We hope that you find it easier to stay fit and active at work â€" and that you manage to avoid potential sitting-related problems. Follow these tips and we’re sure you will be fit and healthy in your seat and at work.