Is My Job Unhealthy For Me? YES!!

I am one of those workers imprisoned in a cubicle-type environment, sitting for the majority of the day, staring at a computer, doing repetitive tasks with my computer mouse. Fortunately I have not developed carpal tunnel syndrome and I won’t die from hemorrhoids. About 3 or 4 times a day I make a trip to the bathroom, approximately 7 steps away from my chair and 7 steps back. At lunchtime I try to go out to a store or mall-like area to walk and stretch and sometimes to shop while I’m on this side of town. (Loews has wide aisles and I can pick up a few plants or some bug spray.) After lunch I am back at my desk, sitting and staring at my computer again, wolfing down a veggie sandwich (attempt at healthy eating here) because I didn’t want to “sit” in a restaurant to eat. When I get home, I wash clothes, load the dishwasher, walk the dog, and exercise on my treadmill (when the weather is too hot and humid for we humans to breathe here in the deep south). I check my email, watch the news on TV, play with the dog, and fold the clothes I’ve washed. I am active for most of the 5 hours I am at home before it is time for me to sleep. Without that small amount of activity, I might not be able to get a full night’s sleep. My brain would still be in high gear from inactivity. In my world a full night’s sleep is about 5-6 hours depending on my “insomniac dog’s” bladder function.

From the time I shut my alarm off at 6 AM, till I arrive back home at 5:30 PM, I am moving less than I am moving the 5 hours I spend at home before I go to bed at night. During my work-day for almost 12 hours my butt is glued to a chair at the office while I perform my duties as a graphic artist for the publishing company where I am employed. If I worked from home I could get up and move around more frequently. When I was self-employed many years ago I would do household chores as a break from work and I worked more efficiently and quickly because I was activating my enzymes and hormones with exercise and I was in a much better mood all day. There was less interaction with co-workers and that can be a downside for more gregarious people. Now we have Skype if we need to conference. The energy savings alone should be an incentive for business to encourage their employees to work from home. If the job depends on close interaction between people, businesses and employees would benefit from having some kind of exercise venue to break up the sedentary office environment. (And I don’t mean pouring coffee in the break-room.)

I hope to retire soon. Then I can get up at 6 AM and power-walk for 30-40 minutes, eat breakfast, clean the kitchen, walk the dog, wash clothes, make the bed, vacuum, check my emails, fold the clothes, meet a friend for lunch, go grocery shopping, water the plants, clean up my tool room, paint a picture, paint the house, etc. The possibilities are endless and I’ll be healthier!