8 Tips For How To Stay Healthy When You Sit At A Desk All Day
- David Wills
- May 2, 2023
- 6 min read
Let's face it: most of us have jobs that require us to sit down for 90% of the day. Heck, if you're reading this right now, you're probably sitting down.
Unfortunately, there's a ton of evidence that suggests sitting for such long periods of time can negatively impact your hormone levels and lead to inflammation that can lead to heart disease, obesity, and diabetes, not to mention back and neck pain.
Thankfully, though, we have some easy solutions at our disposal that can mitigate the negative impact of sitting all day. In this article, we're going to go over eight tips anyone can implement to stay healthier throughout the workday.
Tip #1: Make Sure Your Posture Is On Point
When you spend an extended period of time in any position, proper posture becomes absolutely critical. The more time you spend in an awkward position, the more your body will adapt to that poor position, and over time that can impact your body's postural health.
For proper sitting posture, your feet should be flat on the floor or resting on a footrest. Your knees should be perpendicular to the ground, and your back should be perpendicular to your legs. Your forearms rest on your desk such that they are parallel to the floor, and your elbows should be perpendicular to the ground and make an L-shape.
Your monitor should be about arm's length from your eyes (give or take a few inches, depending on how big your screen is). The top of the monitor should be at - or slightly below - eye level. The goal here is to keep your neck aligned with your back to reduce neck strain. It may seem small, but over time improper posture really adds up and can lead to some serious neck pain over time, so it's better to get this right from the get-go.
I personally have terrible slouching problems and constantly have to remind myself of this tip. Whenever I properly implement good posture, I feel the difference immediately.
You can also employ something like the Upright Go, which automatically detects if you're slouching and gives you a little vibration to improve your posture. I've personally used the Upright Go, which does a solid job of pinging you when you're slouching, allowing you to quickly and mindfully correct your posture.
Tip #2: Strrrrrrrretch
Even if we have perfect sitting posture, our bodies get tight when we sit down all day. Our hamstrings are particularly susceptible, not to mention your glutes and other areas.
In order to remedy this, we should stretch throughout the day as well as after the work day. Here are a couple of stretches I recommend to counteract the negative impact of sitting. I recommend doing these once or twice throughout the day, or anytime you're feeling any discomfort from sitting down all day.
Tip #3: Use A Standing Desk (Or Make Your Own)
If you can get your hands on a standing desk, use it. Standing desks are super helpful because they break up the monotony of sitting down all day and allow your body to fully extend.
Before COVID, one of the best things about where I worked was that we had desks that could turn into standing desks at the touch of a button. Unfortunately, I don't go into the office anymore, but I still want the benefits of a standing desk.
My makeshift solution is to simply raise my monitors as high as possible and put my mouse and keyboard on top of a large box, allowing me to stand while using my desk. This isn't a perfect solution by any means - my monitors don't reach eye level, so my neck posture isn't ideal - but it allows me to stand and break up from hours of sitting. The next best thing would be to purchase one of these standing desk converters.
However, this tip comes with a caveat: don't stand *all day*, as this actually isn't good for you. Stand as long as you feel comfortable, and then go ahead and sit down.
Tip #4: Take Regular Breaks To Walk Around
Walking breaks are a great way to break up your work day and get your body moving even just a little bit. It's easy when taking a break to just sit at your computer, but walking around offers a change of pace while improving your blood flow, making you even more alert when you eventually go back to work. It's a win-win!
If there are meetings you can take without being on video, simply take the call on audio and use the time to walk around, feeding two birds with one stone. If you can, walk around outside. The benefits you receive from walking are improved tenfold by getting some outside air and sunlight.
Tip #5: Micro Dose Workouts
My next tip is to micro-dose workouts sporadically throughout the day. No, I don't mean that kind of microdosing. Rather, I mean getting up to do a quick set of pushups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, or whatever other workout you wish.
Oftentimes when I get up - either to transition to my standing desk or just when I feel myself getting uncomfortable from sitting - I will get up and do some jumping jacks, push-ups, lunges, or whatever I'm feeling.
It doesn't seem like it will do anything - after all, it's not a big heavy overloaded workout - but you'd be surprised how much a little difference can do. I used to do pull-ups every time I entered my kitchen and was shocked at how many pull-ups I was able to do after just a few weeks of this practice.
Sprinkling in these mini-workouts here and there is a great way to stay active throughout the day and build a little bit of muscle in the process. You can do squats, lunges, push-ups, planks, pull-ups, and many more bodyweight exercises.
Tip #6: Take The Stairs Whenever Possible
Another great way to stay active during the workday is to take the stairs whenever possible. Climbing stairs is actually a great workout (Stairmasters are a thing for a reason!), and so anytime you have an opportunity to take stairs rather than an elevator or escalator, I highly recommend doing so.
Of course, if you work on the 18th floor of your building like I used to, it may not be feasible to climb up and down all those stairs. However, maybe you can climb 3-4 stories and then take the elevator the rest of the way. Just that little bit of added movement can make a big impact over time.
Tip #7: Invest In A Good Chair
There are certain things you shouldn't skimp out on, and a chair is one of them. The average US adult sits for 6.5 hours per day, and a good majority of that sitting is on your office chair, so you should invest in something high-quality.
A good chair will last you years. I bought this chair years ago and it's due for an upgrade, but it's served me very well.
You should look for something with adjustable height, armrests, and lumbar support. You want your chair to support healthy posture as much as possible so that you minimize the impact of long stretches of sitting.
Tip #8: Eat Healthy Snacks and Drink Water
Okay, this is a bit of a cheat tip, but when you're sitting for long stretches of the day, it becomes doubly important to watch your nutrition. It's so easy for us to reach for unhealthy snacks when we're in the middle of a tiring day, but that snacking can result in even more unhealthy habits.
Instead of reaching for chips, reach for nuts or trail mix. Instead of reaching for sweets, reach for an apple, a banana, or even some veggie chips. Oftentimes, our body is just craving something, and it's better to feed it something healthy than unhealthy.
I also recommend keeping a water bottle by your desk at all times that is full of water. You'd be surprised how much water you can go through just by taking sips every so often while you're in a meeting. Plus water is much healthier in the long run than exclusively drinking soda, fruit juice, or coffee.
Conclusion
Sitting at a desk all day puts us at risk for a sedentary lifestyle, which can increase the risk of numerous negative health issues over time. In order to offset these potential issues, it's vital to implement healthy workday habits.
There might be an adjustment period when implementing some of these tips, and you might not even implement all of them all the time. But if you do your best to follow these tips, your body will thank you down the line!
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