6 Things That Happen to Your Body When You Leave Your Desk

Getting up from your desk could boost your mood, help you sleep and keep you fit…

21 March, 2018
6 Things That Happen to Your Body When You Leave Your Desk

On your feet. Yes, stand up right now, and you'll give yourself an instant health boost. "Research shows that people who sat more than 11 hours a day had a 40% higher risk of dying in the next three years than people who sat less than four hours a day," says Professor Olivia Judson from Imperial College London. Breaking up sedentary time may well be a life and death issue, but for those of us chained to our desk jobs we need a little motivation to stand up. Here's what happens to your body every time you leave your desk…

​1. Your brain activates

When? INSTANT

"The second you stand up you engage your calf muscles, which increases your venous return, otherwise known as the rate of blood flow," explains registered osteopath Leah Hearle, who advises getting up every 30 minutes, even if it's just to take a phone call. "This rush of oxygen-rich blood to your brain improves concentration and raises your energy, so standing up is when your best ideas will naturally come." Staring zombie-eyed at the screen doesn't deliver the same results.

2. You're happier

When? IN 2 MINUTES

Being surrounded by miserable colleagues is mentally draining. "We are wired, automatically and unconsciously, to mimic and absorb the emotions of others around us," explains Professor Paul Dolan, author of Happiness By Design.

He refers to a Swedish study in which subjects smiled and frowned in response to happy and angry faces, even when they saw those faces for a fraction of a second. His answer? "Surround yourself with upbeat people who boost your mood." You can't necessarily choose who you sit with, but you can stop by a friendly colleague's desk in the name of work, or chat to a friendly face in the kitchen as the kettle boils.

3. Your sugar craving calms down

When? IN 10 MINUTES

We eat up to three times more at work than we do on an average day at home. As well as your colleague's obsession with buying 'treats' for the team, a review in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition proves snacking at our desks puts us at risk of overeating. Results show eating while distracted means we not only eat more at that moment, but we also eat more calories than we need at our next meal. So when the chocolate digestives get passed around, that's your cue to get up from your desk.

4. You burn more fat

When? IN 1 HOUR

Standing up burns 50 more calories per hour than sitting down, says a University of Chester study. So every time you walk to a colleague's desk instead of emailing, or fill up at the water cooler, you're increasing your daily calorific expenditure. If you're lucky enough to have a standing desk, you can burn up to 52,000 calories per year while at work, which is the same as running 20 marathons.

5. You sleep better

When? TONIGHT

"Fitting more activity into your day, even just walking for 15 minutes, can improve your sleep quality," says performance coach Dalton Wong, author of The Feelgood Plan. The cumulative impact of being more active – even if it's just taking the stairs to a meeting and having a stroll around the block in your lunch break – is even proven to alleviate insomnia, according to a study in the journal Primary Care Companion.

6. Reduce your risk of cancer

When? LONG TERM

Years of sitting down slowly snowballs to increase our risk of six different cancers. Breast and colon cancer are most impacted by sedentary behavior, according to research from the U.S., which suggests chairs could be to blame for over 90,000 cases of every year. The same study also links another 80,000 cases of lung, prostate, endometrial and ovarian cancer to excessive sitting. So every time you leave your desk, you're taking one small step towards a healthier future.

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