Desk Jockeys Beware- 7 Tips For A Healthier Desk Life

If you’re reading this, you’re probably sitting down, hunched over, with shoulders a little bit too close to your ears. You’re shrugging when you don’t have to. You look at your phone…A LOT. The problem isn’t the phone itself. It’s how you are looking at it. It’s really how you’re looking at almost everything- phones, tv’s, laptops, iPads, Kindles. It’s also a product of you NOT DOING anything about it.

Yes, sitting has been demonized and this isn’t the first or the last article about it. But this topic really needs to hit home for you to actually take action. Because if you’re reading this, you’re on LinkedIn and you probably spend your careers mostly in a seated position. Your posture may not be the best now, but you’ll eventually get to it, right?

The problem is that 99% of you WILL NOT do anything until it’s too late. What a shame. EVERY CLIENT that comes into my facility has structural issues that we have to address. I cannot, in good conscience, not address it. That’s why they come in. Many don’t even realize how “jacked up” they are because their bodies have become used to the positions they are in most often.

It’s not JUST sitting that is the problem- it’s sitting UNDER duress. Let me explain. Our ancestors used to run or fight when under stress. “Stress” for them meant something was trying to eat them. “Movement” was the way out. Stress is different today. We feel “under attack” in traffic, while sitting. We feel “under attack” during face to face or phone meetings. When you hear bad news, you’re probably sitting. Stress and NOT MOVING don’t mix. It fixates your body in that seated position while your stress levels increase. Do it over and over again and you have potentially disastrous consequences later on.

“Dopamine is a messenger molecule in the brain that allows certain nerve cells to communicate with one another. Underestimated at its discovery, dopamine proved critical to central nervous system functions such as movement, pleasure, attention, mood, and motivation.” 

“Movement” is linked with the same pathways as “Pleasure, Mood, Motivation.” Read that again. What that means is that if you move more, you elevate dopamine levels which lead to feelings of pleasure, elevated mood and higher motivation. What’s the cost? GET YOUR ASS UP and make MOVEMENT a PRIORITY!!!!

1. If you can, take phone meetings while walking. Remember that movement increases dopamine levels, mood and focus. You’ll be able to respond to most situations with a clearer head.
2. When possible, perhaps walking to your co worker’s desk to deliver a message in person is a good idea?
3. Park as far away from your office as comfortable and walk to work.
4. Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
5. Use your lunch break to move and eat (mindfully) at your desk.
6. Set an alarm every hour to remind you to get up for at least 5 minutes.
7. Don’t workout- CONSCIOUSLY move for medicinal purposes at least 45 minutes every day. Purposeful walking is fantastic because it’s the ONE skill that we need to maintain for the rest of our lives.

https://www.facebook.com/evolvetofitwellness/videos/2712671432106511/

***My client Brendan and I working to improve his Thoracic Rotation. For full description, click link above video***