Pesel & Carr has taken the pledge to join the ‘Movement Movement’ as part of the new health initiative MoveMoreSitLess by Bluearth Foundation.
As part of the pledge we’ll be aiming to move a little more and sit a lot less in the workplace every day – which has a plethora of health benefits, as well as keeping us energised and more productive.
We’ve also downloaded a number of free resources and posters that help remind us to move throughout the day.
Some tips for a more active workplace we’ve incorporated (and you can too!) include:
- Standing when you talk on the phone, or greet visitors
- Getting rid of the bin under your desk
- Instituting a standing break between each agenda item at meetings, or having a standing/walking meeting instead
- Drinking more water – you’ll need to move to re-fill your glass, and to visit the toilet
Bluearth Foundation is a national health promotion charity working to improve health through increasing our levels of physical activity and movement. Traditionally, Bluearth focussed on children, but have extended this to adults with MoveMoreSitLess. You can check out their Twitter at @MoveMoreAust.
Assisted by Pesel & Carr, the foundation recently surveyed over 1000 Australians on their sitting habits and desires – and the results were eye-opening.
While almost everyone knew sitting was not good for health and 80 per cent wanted to sit less, almost half reported sitting more than eight hours a day – which is associated with a 15 per cent increase in the risk of early death.
More alarmingly, 16 per cent of respondents sat for over 11 hours thereby increasing their risk of early death by up to 40 per cent, according to some estimates. Two thirds of people thought 30 minutes of activity a day was enough to a day was enough to keep you healthy, but exercise won’t save you from the harmful effects of sitting for too long.
When we sit, the body ‘shuts down’– a bit like being weightless in space – and it is thought that sitting slows the body’s metabolism, reducing our ability to regulate blood sugar and blood pressure, and to burn fat. This in turn leads to a measurably higher risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer.
The good news is that there are lots of ways to move more and sit less, and that those people who actively did try to break up long periods of sitting found it left them feeling more productive, refreshed, happier and more relaxed.
Your workplace can also join the movement here.
