Things Successful Employers Need to Know: 4 Reasons Your Desk Job Is Terrible for You

Part of running a truly successful business is creating a work environment for your employees that encourage happiness and health. It is only through a successful work environment that work can be done its best. We all know that regular exercise is an essential aspect of leading a healthy and balanced life.

There are endless studies and medical tests proving that physical activity helps keep an individual healthy both physically and mentally.

There are very (very) few people who would argue this point. However, many of us fail to recognize just how detrimental sitting all day at our desk jobs can be.

Sure, exercising after work each day (or at least some days) is good for you, but is it enough to offset the damage done by sitting for the eight hours of work beforehand.

As our workforce becomes continually more ruled by technology, more and more full time employees are spending their entire eight hour shift sitting in front of a computer screen.

Learn about these four reasons you should find an alternative to sitting at your desk all day long. Seriously.

Obesity

Obesity has been a hot topic of discussion throughout health and wellness communities for years. With childhood obesity on the rise, the obesity epidemic is no new news to the general public.

With everything else about our lives contributing to obesity (not really, but you see what I’m getting at), it comes as no surprise really that sitting for eight hours straight during the day can contribute to the problem as well.

However, it’s not just that we are forced to be so inactive throughout the day that makes a desk job a precursor to obesity.

Being sedentary for extended periods of time on a regular basis can cause your metabolism to slow and change how your body functions. This slow and change can contribute to weight gain.

Increased Risk for Heart Disease

Again, many of our mindsets are that if we workout after sitting all day at work, we’ll even the score. But, unfortunately, this is likely not the case.

Studies have shown time and time again that exercising each day (even if it’s intensely for an hour) cannot make up for sitting at a computer screen all day long. Individuals who sit all day and workout after are just as likely to have heart problems as people who sit at a desk all day and do not exercise.

The common factor in this equation is sitting for extended periods of time. Find ways to get up and move around throughout your workday to decrease your risk for serious heart problems in the future.

Higher Risk for Diabetes and High Cholesterol

As if a higher risk for heart disease and obesity weren’t enough to deter us, sitting all day long can also increase your risk for developing diabetes and high cholesterol. Sitting all day causes your body to slow down altogether, resulting (oftentimes) in increased blood sugar.

Your body is not using the sugar for energy, so that sugar just remains in your system. Also, with raised blood sugar comes raised cholesterol. As you sit, the enzyme activity in your body slows down and prevents your body from using fat for energy.

Raised cholesterol and diabetes are serious conditions that can lead to much more serious problems in the future.

Increased Risk for Depression

While many of these physical health risks may not come as a huge surprise, there are some serious mental health risks extended sitting can contribute to. Sitting at a desk all day can increase your likelihood of developing or suffering from depression.

While sitting at a desk all day on its own may be enough to drive a person into a low mood, there are actual physiological reasons that inactivity during the day can cause depression. Less physical activity means that your body is releasing fewer hormones that promote happy mental health.

With fewer of these hormones coursing through your bloodstream, you are more likely to slip into a depression (particularly if you have already been struggling with the problem).

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