Yes, it’s that simple. Whether you’re standing at your desk or walking around your office making a call, gravity is doing good things for you!
Prolonged sitting is linked to poor health outcomes, including an increased risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. Just by standing up for a couple of minutes two or three times a day you are raising your heart rate and helping your metabolism by lowering blood sugars, and therefore burning off calories. It could even improve your psychological health, and make you more engaged with the task at hand.
Flagging during an afternoon meeting? A daily snack of 15-30g of nuts and two pieces of dark chocolate could help. Like coffee, both nuts and dark chocolate are high in polyphenols and have beneficial cognitive effects, such as boosting short-term memory, fluency and attention.
In the right amount they have other benefits too. Nuts have been shown to improve energy levels, reduce the risk of cancer and diabetes and even slow the aging process. Meanwhile, dark chocolate, which is high in the flavonoid group of polyphenols, could improve the elasticity of blood vessels, insulin sensitivity and cholesterol levels in women with Type 2 diabetes.
Breaking up the working day to meditate might seem counter-intuitive when the pressure is on, but just a small 10-minute session each day can improve your sleep, mood, boost your immune system and even physically rewire your response to stress and pain.
An eight-week study revealed that meditation brings all these benefits by reducing the size of the amygdala, the part of the brain that, under pressure, releases more of the stress hormone cortisol and dulls your immune system.
Learning how to meditate is easier than you think too, with loads of free resources online as well as in-person classes.
