Does Texas Have Too Many Sitting Jobs?
First of all, thank you for listening at work. You know I love you and consider you to be a fantastic co-worker and it's with your well-being in mind that I say what I'm about to say. If your job requires you to sit a lot, it could kill you. This is a lil scary!
If you've got a job that keeps you active walking up and down flights of stairs, landscaping yards, or putting new asphalt on our Texas highways, you may be out of breath and sweaty half the day, but you really are doing yourself a favor long term. You're getting exercise at work. It's the Texans with sitting jobs that have to worry.
The American Cancer Society did a study and said if you have a job that requires you to sit for six hours each day or more, the risk of dying jumps up 19 percent. And that doesn't even take into consideration whether you go home after work and sit some more watching TV all night long.
The study said sitting can kill you in 14 ways, including "cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, kidney disease, suicide, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung disease, liver disease, ulcer, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, nervous disorders; and musculoskeletal disorders."
As crazy as they look, this is why people are investing in those treadmill desks and big rolling balls that double as chairs. You probably can't ask the boss to let you do your work from the gym, but you can probably trade out the sedentary desk and chair for something that helps you move a little.
The experts say that's the key -- to keep moving somehow during the workday. Get up and stretch, take a short walk over the lunch hour, or take a hike up the staircase just because your muscles want you to. Every little bit helps.
How 'bout this. Grab our app from the app stores, get an overwhelming energy boost with all that music on your phone, and the next thing you know you will have climbed ten flights of stairs, and walked to your car six times because you got lost in a great stretch of your favorite songs. We'll do whatever we can to help.
I'm doing ab and butt clenches as I sit here and write this, and my co-workers have no idea. Move muscles, move. Starting is always the hardest part, right? So let's all do it together.