In today’s hectic work environment, one should never take good health for granted. Most people, whenever a new year approaches, start a special countdown of all the good intentions they plan to implement for better health. They want to start a diet, exercise more, look at their posture, try and stress less, give up smoking and drink more water.
Everybody needs to evaluate their health and then put health goals into action. Once you’ve settled on your resolution, set realistic goals. It is important to have a strategy to deal with temptation or the simplicity of just giving up. A new set of health routines are a wonderful opportunity for self-improvement towards health and happiness.
We’re going to look at 3 health routines that are so essential to health, every modern office worker should adopt them today.
1. Introduce Fitness
Setting realistic fitness goals will prevent you from starting something you don’t want to finish. There are many ways to keep active at work, and the secret is to find something you enjoy as this is the recipe for ‘being active happiness’.
There are some seriously easy-peasy exercises that have been around for years, and anyone can do them. The simplest one is the Step-Up Exercise that works the glutes, calves and quads and it also lifts and tones.
Action:
- Have a dumbbell in each hand. If you don’t have a dumbbell you can still do the exercise.
- Place one foot on a small bench and step up, straightening out your body. If you can, keep the opposite foot in the air to give the legs more of a workout.
- Pause for just a second and then slowly step back down.
- Repeat with the other leg.
Consistency is key for achieving optimal results – greater flexibility and less aches and pains. Without flexibility, you’re prone to injury and then you can’t get out and about.
If actual exercises such as the one mentioned above bore you, or you don’t have time to squeeze in an exercise routine into your work, start out with something simple such as standing instead of sitting when you work. This simple act has shown to have many health benefits, including losing weight. For people who don’t have the stamina to stand for long stretches at a time, a good sit stand chair is a good solution to consider.
2. Eat and Drink Yourself to a Healthier You
The stresses of modern living make it that nearly all of us have a nutrient deficiency. Ideally, you need to be consuming a well-balanced diet.
If you’re eating highly processed fast foods with a low nutrient content, it is quite possible to be undernourished and overweight. All the chronic diseases of lifestyle we see today are associated with malnutrition, which includes both over- and under eating.
Fortunately, nutrition is a changeable risk factor for chronic disease. Some simple guidelines for eating and drinking towards good health.
- Enjoy a variety of foods – protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, minerals and water.
- Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables – they are low in kilojoules. Eat foods which are a good source of fibre.
- Use sugar and salt sparingly. If you drink alcohol, do it sensibly as it is high in calories and over-consumption can affect the liver and contribute to weight gain.
3. Keep Hydrated
Many people are inclined to think that adequate hydration is only important when they are exercising. The truth is that hydration is important throughout the day. Clean water is a hot commodity today, and if possible, you want to have a water filtration system added to your kitchen tap. This is because chlorine, fluoride and aluminum sulfate are just some of the toxic chemicals added to our water to make it safer to drink.
