Have you begun to notice that your legs are becoming swollen and your back hurts more and more often when you work sedentarily? There’s also something wrong with the shoulders, especially the right one – after all, that hand holds a computer mouse all day long. There are simple tricks that can help you counteract your sedentary lifestyle and maintain your health even during office work.
Did you know that in a sitting position the load on the spine is twice as much as in a standing position? That is why a working day at a desk or 5 classes at the university is much more tiring than a walk in the forest or park. And a sedentary lifestyle, which begins in the first grade and does not end until retirement, over time provokes pain and heaviness in the lower back and legs, stagnation of blood in the pelvis, swelling of the legs, varicose veins, overstrain of the muscles of the shoulder girdle and neck, poor posture and etc.
Of course, there is a good option - go to a warm country, to the sea, play sports and not sit in an office. This is great, but not everyone can take advantage of this opportunity. And we must learn to “survive” and take care of ourselves in the conditions in which we live. Remember these rules, follow them - and you will feel better!
Workplace: office chair, table, monitor
Tell me where you stand and I will tell you what problems await you. The first thing you must provide and arrange for yourself in the workplace is the “place” itself, that very office chair. What should it be like?
- The seat of the chair should have a slight tilt forward (about 4 degrees), so that the person is forced to rest his feet on the floor and create some tension on them.
- Ideally, your feet should be on an inclined support rather than on a flat floor. This is the most optimal sitting position that is easy for a person to maintain.
- The correct table height is one at which a person does not have to lift his shoulders or bend over to put his elbows on the table.
- The top edge of the monitor should be at eye level, and there should be a gel pad under the wrist to relieve the wrist joint. The hand that works with the mouse must lie completely on the table, otherwise its weight will fall on the shoulder girdle and cervical spine.
- It is very important that your back has good support, for example, in the form of a soft pillow between the lower back and the back of the chair. While sitting at the table, the lumbar arch should be maintained. It also helps relieve excessive stress on the ligaments, joints and muscles of the lumbar spine.
Watch the position of your legs and forget about the “siu” pose. This is not only unsightly, but also harmful!
Office exercises for a sedentary lifestyle
If you work in an office, then taking breaks from work and doing exercises is much more difficult than when working from home, but a way out of this situation can be found, I will give an example of useful exercises that can be done in the office, it is advisable to do these exercises every two hours of work while sitting position:
- Bring your hands together and stretch forward, hold for 10-20 seconds.
- Get up and do the same, hold for 10-20 seconds.
- Bring your hands together above your head, holding your elbows, and bend to each side, holding for 8-10 seconds.
- Repeat exercise 2
- Raise your shoulders up several times with a delay of 5 seconds.
- Take one hand with the other behind your back, stretch your back while trying to stretch your neck and head forward.
- Place your palms against each other in an upward position and pull down with force.
- Place your palms against each other in a downward position and pull down with force.
- While standing or sitting, raise one hand, lower the other down and pull one down and the other up, stay in this position for 10 seconds.
- Place one leg on the other with your knees crossed, grab your knee with one hand, turn your torso with your shoulders towards the crossed legs, hold for 10 seconds, repeat in the opposite direction, changing legs.
- With your hands at your waist, arch your back as much as possible and hold for 10–15 seconds.
- Shake your hands.
These exercises will help reduce fatigue when working in a sitting position, but if you do not maintain regular physical activity, the benefit from them will be minimal.
A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine [1] found that sitting for more than 4-5 hours a day may not help with any amount of regular physical activity! And pathological changes will still occur in the body, increasing the risk of developing diabetes and heart problems. Therefore, it is most useful to get up from your seat for 1-2 minutes, every half hour, you can go to the window and do gymnastics to relax the eye muscles, or any other small physical activity.
What else can you do if you spend most of your time sitting?
- Walk to and from work (although get off a few stops earlier than you would normally need to get off and walk).
- In public transport it is better to stand than sit; it is much healthier for the body: the load on the spine is distributed more correctly.
- Do not use the elevator, always take the stairs.
- Always think: where else can I take a little more extra steps, take a different route, until it becomes a habit.
- You can use a pedometer, which will allow you to keep track of the distance traveled per day, and record this data in a physical diary.
Conclusion : in the article I briefly described the consequences and methods of reducing harm from a sedentary lifestyle; it is necessary to give up the bad habit of such a lifestyle, otherwise it will be difficult to talk about longevity and life extension.
Link to the study:
[1] Sedentary Time and Its Association With Risk for Disease Incidence, Mortality, and Hospitalization in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. https://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2091327
Exercises to prevent a sedentary lifestyle in video.
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Roman Zabolotnikov
For more than six years I have been helping readers of this site obtain the latest information on the topics of biohacking, improving health, prolonging youth and achieving longevity, and also share personal experience and practical experience in the field of using supplements and drugs with IHERB. I would be grateful if you take a few minutes and leave your comments and questions about the article you read; your opinion is very important to make this site more interesting and the materials more understandable.
How to relieve eye fatigue
No matter how modern and safe monitors are, our eyes get tired from continuous concentrated work and visual stress. Even a student or student who spends a long time reading a textbook or doing written assignments will feel that his eyes are tired. Therefore, eye exercises are the best friend of both those who study and people who work at the computer.
- Every 20 minutes, look to the side, into the distance, out the window, so that your eyes rest.
- Close your eyes tightly and open your eyes. Repeat this simple exercise several times to improve blood circulation and moisturize the cornea with tear fluid.
- Rub your palms vigorously to warm them up. Fold them into a boat and cover your eyes with them. The eyes themselves can be either closed or open, but light should not penetrate the palms. Now move your eyes from right to left and back, from bottom to top and back, along two diagonals to the limit, in a circle counterclockwise and clockwise. And at the end, draw a square with your eyes, first clockwise, then in the opposite direction. All movements are performed with maximum amplitude. You will feel soreness in the first few days - this is normal. Then it will pass.
Perform 4 sets of these exercises several times throughout the day.
Two shoulders - two straps: how to wear a backpack correctly
This rule applies primarily to students and schoolchildren. But if you carry a backpack to work, this applies to you too!
- Wear the backpack only on two shoulders! Moreover, choose models with wide straps - this is important for evenly distributing the load on both sides of your body, which is essential for maintaining correct posture.
- No less important is the presence of a padded back, which holds the shape of the backpack and supports the person’s back. This nuance must be taken into account when choosing a backpack for a child. And since school backpacks are also heavy, you should be more picky and attentive when choosing the optimal model.
How to relieve body tension: Herringbone exercise
An excellent exercise that helps stretch the entire body and relieve tension. Remember and do it daily! I recommend this exercise in almost all of my marathons, courses, and simply as a final exercise after performing various physical activities. A working day is also a load, after which our body requires compensation in the form of walking, light jogging, swimming and doing the Herringbone exercise.
- While standing, raise your arms up and cup them palm to palm, as if you were a swimmer.
- Slowly rise onto your toes and stretch upward as much as possible.
- Now lower your heels towards the floor, and keep the tension of your hands up, as if you were suspended on an invisible hook.
- Return to the starting position by slowly lowering your arms down to your sides.
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Benefits of massage
Massage is mandatory for anyone who is forced to remain motionless for a long time. With its help, you can increase and normalize blood flow to the tissues of the body. It also has a positive effect on joint tissues and cartilage, which can atrophy with prolonged immobilization.
Regular procedures do not allow blood to stagnate, which eliminates the occurrence of contractures, bedsores or joint blockages. The experience of doctors and their patients shows that significant improvements in health indicators are observed in 80% of cases after 1-3 months of exercise.
In addition to the fact of the process itself, it is important to properly massage a bedridden patient. When performing procedures, you should pay attention to details and follow the recommendations exactly.
Doctors recommend choosing professional therapy, but, in the absence of contraindications, you can perform massage for bedridden patients at home.
Zones:
- back of the head;
- shoulder blades;
- small of the back;
- sacrum;
- buttocks;
- heels.
Thus, the parts of the body that are most exposed to stress and friction when lying down need massage.
In addition to soft tissues, the joint areas of the bedridden patient should be kneaded: elbows, knees. To do this, you should perform passive flexion/extension exercises, as with independent movement.
The duration of the procedure depends on the patient’s condition and the length of time spent in a supine position. It is worth gradually increasing the execution time, starting from 5 minutes, and increasing to 30-40. You need to massage at least 2 times a week (preferably every day) and remember that a person’s health and comfort depend on their actions.
Contraindications
There is a main contraindication in which massage is strictly prohibited. This is the presence of any acute infectious process in the body (intestinal, blood, respiratory tract, skin). Accelerating blood flow will increase the spread of infection and deteriorate health.
The second contraindication is skin pathology. With this everything is clear without words. Do not touch bedsores, ulcers, boils, dermatitis, open wounds, etc.
Important! People are allowed to undergo therapy only in the absence of infectious inflammation and skin pathologies.
In any case, it is worth consulting with your doctor and getting approval for the procedures.
Preparing a bedridden patient for massage
First of all, it is worth preparing the person well. Bedridden patients do not always have a stable emotional state and they react more sharply than others to unfamiliar situations. It is better to gently explain the benefits of the procedure, talk about what actions will be performed (you can demonstrate it on yourself).
Important points in preparation:
- the last meal should be no later than 1.5 hours before the session;
- remove clothes from those parts of the body that will be warmed up;
- before the procedure, it is advisable to wash the person or wipe individual areas of the skin with a sponge soaked in warm water;
- use massage oil that will not cause an allergic reaction;
- if there are bedsores or other damaged areas on the body, they should be covered and not touched. Including the immediate area, to avoid pain;
- During the procedure, create a calm environment and relax the person.
You should consider in more detail how to do massage for bedridden patients correctly and effectively.
