I may have mentioned that in my “real” life I work in the health care IT industry and one of my roles has to do with promoting workplace health and wellness at my company and others. Recently, I have been reviewing some research on the link between health/exercise and productivity in the work place.
I saw this post yesterday on Hungry Girl that summarized some interesting findings:
– New reports indicate that sitting at your desk, working tirelessly all day long, takes a toll — on your body, mind, and more. One study of working women found that occupational burnout was associated with emotional and/or uncontrolled eating. (Can definitely relate to this one!)
– Another shows that among employed middle-aged women, those who work longer hours tend to gain more weight. (Yikes – this is almost me!)
– And still another study found that subjects who engaged in unhealthy behaviors (poor diet, lack of regular exercise, smoking, etc.) had lower productivity levels than employees with more wholesome habits. (Phew, finally some good news for me!)
– The good news? According to findings reported in the Journal of Labor Research, subjects who regularly exercised earned a 6 to 10 percent wage increase. All work and no exercise makes you a dull (and underpaid) girl or boy!
NPR also had a good (but kind of depressing) story on why Sitting All Day is Worse Than You Think.
So what can we do about it??
(Stolen from the Jane Dough blog post “Drinking, Garlic And Chocolate: The Weirdest Things That Make Desk-Dwellers Live Longer”) Turns out there’s a host of weird things that sedentary office workers can do to stay alive, as this infographic from confused.com shows. Best part? Almost none of them seem like a giant pain. Win-win.
Uh-oh – I have to start working on some of these things – STAT! I am doing pretty well in quadrant 1 minus the garlic but I have a lot of work to do with my one half living plant, no pets and my stress level on high (among other issues!) Some interesting stuff to think about!
The Well Daily also suggests a few things (and provides links to how-to’s) in the post Work Better including: brightening up your space (with plants), bringing good habits to work (like eating healthy), taking a breather (brief meditation/stretching), getting a change of scenery (getting outside even for a few minutes – my favorite of their recommendations!) and moving around during the day (check out the article 7 Reasons to Move.)
Well, if all else fails – how about some deals?
Stressed at work like me? Check this out! Gilt City has great deals (30% off) at Bliss Spa in Chicago, NY, LA, Scottsdale, Atlanta, San Fran, Miami and Boston! Sapna and I treated ourselves to the “Best of Bliss” last year for our birthdays and it.was.awesome!
SpaRahRah from Spa Finder is now “Now!” They have a 50% off offer on the eco-friendly AcuMat from Stylewellness. What is an AcuMat? They say, “the AcuMat can offer relief from all kinds of issues, including sleep problems, migraines and even asthma. The organic cotton mat uses adrenaline to excite and then calm the body and mind. SELF Magazine named it the number one wellness product. This deal even includes a free cotton tote bag and gift box, so it’s perfect as a gift for a friend, or just for yourself.” For $20 seems worth a try – no? They also have some other great travel and online deals and a few city deals for NYC and Miami here.
– Hey Chicago friends – like the Museum of Science and Industry on Facebook to get $5 off of the Mythbusters exhibit
– Check out some great Daily Candy Deals: 50% off travel accessories including a Victorinox wheeled carry on from Tripsclusive and 40 – 55 % off of awesome hand painted Belle bike helmets
– Ooh NYC Friends, Daily Candy NYC has a great deal (60% off!) on iAdventure.com Downtown Food Tours – lower east side (including including Kossar’s Bialys, Katz’s Delicatessen, The Pickle Guys, Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery, Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery, and Economy Candy – no surprise – I LOVE Economy Candy) and chocolate tours through Thanksgiving.
That’s all for now. How do you handle work place stress or a sedentary job? I would love to hear what works for you. Have a great week!