Step To It
It took me eons to recognize it, but eventually I did: If my work required me to show up and sit in an office day-after-day, I would go stark raving mad. Temperamentally, I am simply not suited to sitting still in a singular location for long periods of time. Boredom quickly sets in. And once I’m bored, well it’s just not good for me.
An article in Sunday’s New York Times made me think that sitting in an office might not be good for anyone. In “What’s The Most Unhealthful Thing You Do Every Day,” James Vlahos writes about a growing body of inactivity research, which increasingly identifies sitting as an independent cause of various diseases. According to Vlahos, sitting for nine hours a day at the office is bad for you whether you go home afterward and watch TV or hit the gym. It’s bad for you whether you’re grossly overweight or stick thin. The author quoted one Mayo Clinic researcher, who has concluded, “Excessive sitting is a lethal activity.”
Vlahos cites studies that should be of concern to people who populate offices around the country. One American Cancer Society study found that men who spent six hours or more of their leisure time sitting had an overall death rate that was about 20 percent higher than the men who sat for three hours or less. Among women who sat for more than six hours a day, their death rate was about 40 percent higher. Another study published last year in the journal Circulation found that for each additional hour of TV a person sat and watched per day, the risk of dying rose by about 11 percent.
If you're an intern, summer associate or new hire who must report to an office, incorporate exercise whenever possible. Among options recommended by the Mayo Clinic:
1. Build a walk into your commute. If you can’t bike or walk to work, hop off the bus or subway a few blocks early. If you drive to work, park as far away from your entrance as possible.
2. Look for opportunities to stand. I’ve positioned my laptop on a counter that allows me to stand whenever I respond to e-mails or create a PowerPoint. Try standing throughout most of your phone calls. Instead of texting colleagues, walk down the hallway for a quick face-to-face meeting.
3. Schedule walking meetings or brainstorming sessions.
4. Store some fitness equipment in your work area. Do bicep curls while you respond to voice-mail messages.
5. If, like me, your work involves lots of travel, plan for it. Don’t just rush through security and then plop down at your gate. Walk the length of the airport terminal, and choose hotels that maintain gyms.
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