Over the years we have made tremendous feats. We are now able to have food readily available whenever we want it. We are able to have most foods nearly year-round no matter where we are located, and we can make food last a very long time.
Not only have our advancements impacted our food, it has impacted our daily lives as well. We no longer have to exert too much energy to get to work. We can hop in our car and travel long distances, requiring minimal effort on our end. We don’t need to do much to get much.
All of this sounds pretty darn good, and it is. But, all of these advancements come with negative consequences. Our ability to get most anything we want or need with minimal effort has also made us more sedentary and unhealthy than we have ever been.
One of the major contributors to the health crisis in our country is the drastic transition from labor-intensive jobs to sedentary office jobs. We went from burning hundreds to thousands of calories per day to burning only one or two hundred if we are lucky. As bad as this is, these office jobs are essential to our economy. People need to live their passions, provide for their families, and contribute to their employer’s cause. Therefore, the question is, how do we continue to work in these settings without negatively impacting our health?
Thankfully, there are several things you can do to improve your health and longevity while working a sedentary job. Let’s dive in.
Health Tip #1 - Increase Your NEAT
NEAT stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. This is simply a fancy term for the activity you complete in a day that is not formal exercise. NEAT can include walking from your car to the office, doing the laundry, vacuuming, etc. One of the best ways you can combat the sedentary nature of an office job is by increasing your NEAT. The easiest way to measure NEAT is by counting your steps using a FitBit or smart watch. Although you may want to increase your daily steps by walking on the treadmill for an extra hour, anecdote and research shows that it is far more effective to spread things out throughout the day. So, park further away from your office, mow the lawn more often, go on walks with your significant other, vacuum, or do some extra chores here and there.
Do you want to learn more about a few simple changes in your workday to make it a little bit healthier? Download part two of our Health and Wellness Series, Office Tips!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR