Ever since computers came into existence, people started spending more time doing desk jobs. And finding time to go to gym is not often possible! But here are five desk exercises that will help you stay away from health hazards sitting at your desk!

Today, on average, we spend almost eight to ten hours sitting at our desks doing desk jobs. This duration had considerably increased with the rise of the pandemic in the year 2020 when almost 80% of the people were made to work from home owing o the social distancing norms. Desk jobs have reduced the pain of running around carrying files from one office to another. The maximum of the data is being transferred online. But, as they say, every new change comes with a set of pros and cons.

Today, in this article, we will discuss the disadvantages of sitting on your desk for long hours and will also tell you about five desk exercises that will help you maintain a fit body.

Disadvantages of sitting on your desk for long hours

It is true that with growing technology we have been successful in cutting down on the travel time. But like ways, if we sit on our desks for long hours, we face many health hazards due to desk jobs. Also sitting on a particular place for too long is affecting our productivity as an individual. Listed below are a few disadvantages of sitting on your desk for too long.

Affects your heart

Your heart is most likely to get affected by sitting down for too long. People who sit for too long are more likely to get heart diseases than people who don’t.

Suffer from stress and anxiety

People who sit at a stretch for long hours are more prone to stress and anxiety. As per researchers, people who sit for long hours are prone to anxiety attacks.

You may end up getting Deep Vein Thrombosis

 Sitting down for long hours restricts you from moving your legs, because of which there are possibilities that you will develop Deep vein Thrombosis. It’s a blood clot that forms in the legs because you sit still for too long.

Gain Weight

Gaining weight is inevitable if you sit for long hours. It is said that when you are exercising your brain, you are burning double the calories that you burn from moving around. This is precisely why you feel tired and stressed out after you come home from work even if you have hardly moved from your desk. It leads a person to consume more food because f which people who sit for long hours seem to gain weight more often than people who are moving around.

Wrecks your back

Sitting puts a lot of strain on your back muscles, neck, and spine. Because of this, after sitting at your desk for long hours, you tend to get back pain. This is why most health physicians suggest you should get up and move every half an hour to keep your spine in line.

5 Desk exercises that will help you stay fit

Even if you make sure you sit on a comfortable chair, you can still develop back pain if your posture is not right while sitting on the chair. We recommend you should sit with your feet flat on the ground and hips wide apart. It would help if you never crossed your knees and ankles while sitting on your desk. While you sit on the chair, make sure your back is straight at a 90-degree angle, and your shoulders should be relaxed with your elbows pointing towards your ribs.

This way, you can avoid the pain from sitting for long hours. But, if you continue sitting, merely keeping your posture right while sitting down won’t spare you from health hazards. This is why you should make sure you practice these exercises while working from your home.

Chest Opener

Chest opener is one of the five desk exercises that you can practice sitting in your workstation. You don’t require any special equipment.

Procedure

• It would help if you sat straight on your chair. Your feet should be kept on the floor, and make sure your hips are wide apart.
• Your hands should be interlaced behind your head, and elbows should be wide apart.
• It would help if you lifted through the spine looking up at the window. Make sure you rest your head on your hands while you are lifting your spine.
• You need to stretch the back of the neck, closing your elbows rounding your upper spine.
• You can repeat the movement in sets of 5.

Downward Dog

If you have been sitting at your desk for more than an hour or two, you can try the downward dog exercise. It helps your spine lengthen, and your vertebrate decompresses after you are done for the day. It is one of the widely practiced exercises of the five desk exercises most popular in freehand exercises.

Procedure

• You need to bend your knees and lift your hips, pressing your hands and feet.
• While bending, make sure you lighten your tailbone up and release the crown of your head down.
• Repeat this exercise five times in each set.

Rag Doll Fold

The ragdoll fold exercise is named so because the positions they teach are normally seen in rag dolls made to sit on the shelves of the shops. This is one of the best of the five desk exercises because it releases compression and stagnation from sitting for long hours.

Procedure

• If you wish to practice this exercise, you need first to stand tall.
• Then bend forward at your hips, shift your weight into the balls of your feet.
• It would help if you dropped your heavy head to release the muscles that support the neck and low back.

Half-Kneel Stretch

Half- Kneel stretch is an exercise that is best for people who are developing pain in knee joints because of sitting in a confined place for long hours.

Procedure

• It would help if you started this exercise by half-kneeling. Make sure you tilt your pelvis and inhale while kneeling.
• The body weight needs to be shifted forward as you exhale.
• You can repeat this exercise in sets of 10 for better and faster results.

Spinal Twists

Spinal twists are one of the finest of the five desk exercises. It works on the spine lowering the risk of back pain.

Procedure

• It will help if you sit tall with your spine straight and feet firmly on the ground.
• Then you should lift your spine and rotate it sideways, keeping your hips firmly placed on the seat.
• It’s best if you can make use of the chair arms to assist the twist gently.

Conclusion

Therefore, if you sit for long hours, you can try practicing desk exercises like spinal twists, half-kneel stretch, ragdoll fold, downward dog, and chest opener. These exercises help you keep your body in shape even if you hardly make time for physical activities. But along with these exercises, you should also resolve to get up every half an hour and walk around to ensure you don’t fall sick. The more your muscles have a chance to move around, the better it is for your overall health. So, if you are spending eight to twelve hours sitting on your desk, make sure you get up from your desk every hour at least 5 to 10 minutes a day to avoid major ailments that may cause prolonged sitting.