Did You Know? Sitting Can Kill You

That is, sitting for long periods of time...which is a hazard of the business blogging occupation. At least, those who do it full time—8 hours a day, 5 to 6 days a week. Like me.

A recent study from the University of Leicester says if you sit for long periods of time during the day—about 50-70%—you’re twice more likely to be at risk for diabetes, heart disease and death. The “most consistent” link though is between sitting and diabetes...maybe, because sitting—the hallmark of a sedentary lifestyle—leads to obesity, which is one of the risk factors for diabetes. Chilling findings, that.

The upshot is, the twofold vulnerability is independent of any kind of physical activity. That means even if you meet all the exercise requirements for your age, you’re still at risk. Even more chilling finding, that.

Okay, all bloggers, virtual assistants, work-at-home maven, and anyone who’s ever found themselves spending more than half of their 24-hour day sitting down, repeat after me:

I WILL BREAK LONG PERIODS OF SITTING DOWN 

STARTING TODAY!

3 rules to reduce the risk of death-by-sitting-down:

Rule #1: Every after 1 hour of sitting, stay away from your chair for 5 minutes.

Rule #2: Do some 30-minute exercise every day.

Rule #3: Always remember Rules 1 and 2. :)

Ideas to get work-at-home bloggers, mavens, and divas off the chair every hour:

1. Do some stretching exercises. Play this video and follow the stretches. (It runs under 5 minutes!):

 

2. Alternate between standing and sitting down when working by arranging your station like so:

my work station, when i'm standing up
the tiny table on the right is used when
i'm sitting down, heh. ;)

3. Or, you could let your kid (or in my case, my nephew) commandeer your laptop or PC for a while so you could take a (walking) break, heh

my nephew learning his ABCs

4. During breaks, walk the stairs—two flights up, two flights down. If your house doesn’t have stairs, walk at least 50 steps from your home office, to the living room, kitchen and bathroom. In short, walk around, woman!
5. Stand up and walk when doing something—answering the phone, reaching for books and files, conferring with your workmate or housemate (instead of IM or email). Keep the phone far away so you'll have to stand. ;)
6. Eat your lunch in the pantry, not on your work table...and socialize with others. If you work at home, eat your meals in the kitchen.

Here’s an englightening infographic from our trusty health professionals about the dangers of sitting:

image by medicalbillingandcoding.org