In the Netherlands, many of us sit behind our desks every day. Whether you work from home or in the office, an office job is mostly very seated. While we all think it’s quite normal to stare at our screen from 9 to 5, this isn’t exactly healthy. We found out how bad an office job is.
very seated
If you have an office job, you will likely spend most of the day sitting. In the Netherlands we sit on average about nine hours a day. Not only at work, but also afterwards when we relax on the sofa. That sitting for more than three hours already affects your health. According to the professor of cardiovascular physiology, after three hours the blood vessels will not function properly, the regulation of sugar will deteriorate and the blood flow to the brain will decrease.
More chance of disease
So a lot of sitting has a lot of influence on your body. It can also increase the risk of disease. Think about diabetes, obesity, cancer, and heart disease. All of these ailments can even cause you to die sooner than people who don’t sit down as much. Do you want to prevent it? So make sure you move for two minutes every hour. Even just to have a coffee. Research has shown that you are 33% less likely to die three years earlier.
Computerogen
We all know staring at a screen all day isn’t really good for you either. There is a good chance that you regularly suffer from dry or sore eyes. It’s not that bad, but it can also cause fatigue, headaches, and trouble concentrating.
What can you do alone?
As we said before, it still helps to stand up every hour. A short walk to the coffee machine or to the bathroom is enough. And do you have a break? Try walking for a while instead of sitting down. You can also apply the 20-20-6 rule against computer eyes. This means that after every 20 minutes of viewing the screen, you look at something at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds. And do you work from home? So look at a desk you can even stand on. You can set up these desks so that you can sit and stand.
