Sitting Too Much? How to Move More When Living the Remote Life

Social distancing and remote working are intended to keep us safe and healthy, but could it create new health troubles? 

If you’ve transitioned to working from home, you’re probably not as mobile as you were when you used to go into the office. Think about it: Rather than walking down the hall to go use the restroom or attend a meeting in a conference room, or walking from the parking lot into the office, you’re instead moving around in a much smaller space where everything you need is closer together: your home.  

And the sum of your movements related to your work routine is only part of the movement calculation. Many of your other routines that require you to move on a daily basis have been totally disrupted.  

“People are just not getting out. They’re getting takeout. They’re ordering their groceries to be delivered or to be picked up. We’re all reducing the amount of movement we’d get even if all we did was commute into the office and back. Now we’re walking down the hall, into the kitchen or bathroom, and back. I don’t know the numbers, but we’re not hitting our 10,000 steps a day,” says Jennifer Lee, PT, DPT, FAFS.  

We asked Jennifer to help us understand the consequences for this lack of movement, and give us some ideas for how to incorporate more movement into our days.   

Setting: Survival Mode 

So, what’s happening to our bodies when we go from a routine that requires regular movement, to one that causes us to grind everything to a sudden halt?  

Jennifer explains that our stay-at-home lives can put our systems into survival mode, where, “the brain just wants to conserve calories and stay alive.”  

This mode puts us at risk for increased cortisol levels as our sympathetic nervous system goes on high alert. It can also lead to weight gain, gastrointestinal trouble, and can even have emotional repercussions in addition to the physical. “It ends up being a vicious cycle,” Jennifer says.   

Setting: Movement Mode 

On the other hand, “Movement is medicine!” Jennifer says. “We need movement. Our tissues need to respond to movement. Our systems talk to each other just like communities talk to each other. Getting up and moving your arms on your torso and not just letting them sit and hang out at the keyboard all day, or getting your back to move in positions other than hanging forward at the computer improves stress relief, circulation, muscle activation, alertness. I could go on.” 

5 Ways to Move More Every Day 

#1: Interrupt yourself with movement breaks 

We’re often interrupted at work by external things, such as meetings or a trip to the printer. But when not at the office, we might instead need to create scheduled interruptions. “Set a timer on your phone to get up from your desk every 45 minutes,” Jennifer says. “It’s an external stimulus. If you have something that beeps at you and tells you to get up, you’re more likely to get up.”  

What to do when the timer goes off? Jennifer recommends taking two minutes or so for a walk, jumping jacks, squats, stretching, or your favorite yoga pose or sequence. “You have no idea how much that’s going to help regulate the nervous system, your breathing and your GI system, in addition to the musculoskeletal system.”  

#2: Prep your at-home workstation for more movement 

There are all kinds of products geared to help you move more when stationed at a desk: things like sitting on physioballs, using a standing desk, standing on a balance board, and so on. Incorporating these for intervals throughout the day — alternating between movement and rest — can be an easy way to break up all the sitting when you must be at your computer.  

If you find yourself uncomfortable or tired (whether physically or mentally) when sitting for long periods, it might be worth the investment to find a moving-while-working system that works for you. 

#3: Move your diaphragm – Mindful Breathing 

We breathe without thinking about it, so you may not think about your diaphragm as a muscle that needs to be exercised, but it is. “If we’re sitting all day, it’s not moving as much or as efficiently as it needs to move,” Jennifer explains.  

When we do mindful breathing, not only does it exercise our diaphragm and improve breathing efficiency, it also facilitates one of the body’s most important nerves: the vagus nerve. This nerve helps produce calm, and helps to regulate the heart rate, blood pressure, sweating and even digestion. “If our diaphragm is moving well, it creates a pump for the GI system, just like soap out of a container. This pump is stagnant when we’re sitting.”  

#4: Take it outside 

While movement anywhere is the goal, Jennifer recommends getting an extra emotional boost by taking some of your movement or event your work outdoors. “Being in the sun, breathing in fresh air (not just the air recycled in our houses), even for five to 10 minutes a day) seems like such a small thing,” but brings big benefits, Jennifer says.  

#5: Find counter positions  

One of the most important things about moving is to make sure you’re moving in opposing directions, so you’re unloading tissues and joints that may be stressed.  

What does that mean? One easy example: If you’re sitting all day, this tightens the hamstrings. Standing is an opposing position that gives those muscles a chance to stretch out. Jennifer says that anytime we’re sticking our bodies in a certain position for a long period of time, we’re adding stress.  

If you start to notice pain or discomfort that is new since you’ve been home, “be self-aware of the changes and where you feel tight. Be aware of what you were doing when you were doing well, and be aware of what changes have occurred physically, emotionally, and ergonomically. What are you doing way more or way less than before? Then, how can you literally counteract that motion?” Jennifer says.  

If you can’t move in an opposing direction because of pain or discomfort, “that’s where therapy comes in crucially,” Jennifer says. “We can do an assessment and give you specific, very individualized exercises to help you.” She notes that this can be done via telehealth if you aren’t able to come into a Spooner Physical Therapy clinic.  

 

Would you like the assistance of a physical or hand therapist to get you moving comfortably, or to help you overcome pain or discomfort? Click here to schedule your complimentary movement assessment today. We can work with you virtually via telehealth, or right here in your local clinic!