Keep active at work with this advice
There’s never been a better time to get ourselves out of work at lunch, thanks to the sun shining and we know that sedentary lifestyles are good for no one.
Recent research published by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy reveals that one in five of us are working through our lunch-break every day, with employers failing to encourage staff to take proper breaks. Of those who do manage to take a break, half eat at their desk, and only one in five go outside. With this in mind, Lucie Noble, Senior Physiotherapist at London Bridge Hospital, comments on the need to take a break and stay active:
“I would definitely encourage people to take a break during the day, preferably an hour lunch-break but even a half hour lunch-break is better than nothing. One of the key problems of the sedentary lifestyle related to office work is the impact on your metabolism - the way in which you metabolise sugar and fats reduces substantially with inactivity, and this can lead to diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Something that is clear from our work at the London Bridge Hospital clinic and from research is that it’s not just movement that is important in maintaining weight loss - sitting for long periods of time and general low-activity levels slows down your metabolism and the way that your body breaks down fats and sugars – and that’s when people start storing fat in the abdomen. Fat stored in this area is very much linked to high cholesterol, weight gain and all the problems associated with obesity, as well as increased blood pressure, so it is essential for everyone to take steps to minimise this.
Lucie comments on the impact of continuously being seated at work: “Sitting increases the disc pressures around your spine much more than standing does, and is therefore very bad for your posture. Sitting for long periods of time affects the muscles around our joints so if you are sitting down your hip flexes become much more overactive and tight, and synergistically your glutes then become very weak – and that’s when you start to see people picking up injuries when they exercise. For instance, we continue to see people suffering from hamstring problems and runner’s knee as a result of regular inactivity.
“With posture, people are often asking me “What’s the perfect posture for me when sitting at my desk?” - but there isn’t a generic, ergonomically perfect position for people to sit in. What’s more crucial is that we keep moving – our bodies are meant to be on the move, that’s why we have so many muscles and joints in our body, and they react when we insist on staying still. From a posture point of view, if you sat in one position for a long period of time, even if you were told it was the perfect position to sit in for your back muscles, you are still going to have the same problems as those who are sitting normally. Therefore you’re better off moving around or fidgeting while you’re seated - shift positions, lean forwards, lean back, constantly shuffle around - just don’t sit still, so you are keeping that posture changing. When people complain about fidgeting, this is their body telling them they need to be moving – and this is crucial in reducing key cardiovascular risk factors. We all have it installed in us to sit up straight and maintain a good posture, but then people become anxious and tense, and this carries onto our shoulders and lower back, whereas actually getting people relaxed and active is far more important. Having a workspace assessment is also very important to ensure employers are providing the right equipment for workers."
Lucie explains why we experience more back ache when we are sitting down: “In terms of muscle and joint use, sitting down is very easy. You do not have to recruit many muscles when you’re sitting down, in comparison to when you’re standing or moving. As a result, our bodies become quite lazy, especially around our core, and when these core muscles become ineffective, other muscles have to compensate. This is when we start to feel the pressure on our back muscles as this is the area that takes the strain."
Following recent speculation of the benefits of napping at work, Lucie comments: “With regard to the benefits of taking naps at work, it is undoubtedly impractical for most people to do so. The main reason why people would feel the need to nap in the middle of the day is because they are not getting enough sleep at night. There is research that suggests that having 10-30 minutes in the middle of the day does improve mood, alertness and performance, but unless you are already in a relaxed environment and able to fall asleep immediately this just isn’t feasible – most office workers can’t just fall sleep with their heads on their desk! However, a nap is not the only solution to taking a break - people should be getting up from their desks every hour to move around. We encourage people to take phone calls standing up, or position their printer at the other end of the office so they have to get up and move about. Being sedentary also affects our circulation, so people are consequently more likely to have poor circulation and poor vascular systems – and this is something that is getting worse. As the working day is no longer 9-5, some people are working for 10-12 hours a day, and it is therefore crucial that people remain active during this time and don’t get into bad habits."
Lucie comments on the impact of taking regular breaks on our creativity: “Taking a break during the day undoubtedly benefits our ability to be creative – if you have interaction with people and experience external stimulus, you are helping to keep the mind sharp and alert. There is a great deal of research to suggest that taking a break and also drinking caffeine can boost our creativity. For those who work with heavy machinery, work in shifts, or work in potentially dangerous environments, taking regular breaks or napping would be more beneficial than office workers to ensure they aren’t putting themselves in danger.
“Your sleep pattern is also very important in maintaining productivity – as this is when we do all of our body healing. So if your sleep patterns aren’t efficient or consistent, you’re more likely to have muscles aches and pains, caused by general fatigue."
Lucie concludes, providing some helpful tips and advice to stay active and reduce the risks associated with an office work-life: “I would encourage people to be disciplined about taking a lunch break, move around every hour, and give yourself triggers to keep active – for instance, if your boss emails you, use this as a trigger for you to get up for a couple of minutes and walk around the office – or put something you need quite regularly on the other side of the office so you are forced to get up to use it. These small habits associated with a sedentary lifestyle can often be enough to reduce your health risk factors and also improve your productivity at work.”
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