6 Simple Tips for a Healthier Working Day

We spend most of our week working, so why not take advantage of this time to help optimise our health. Here are some simple tips to show you how.

Stand up

We’ve all been in this situation – we’re madly busy at our desk or just engrossed in a task and all of a sudden we realise we’ve been sitting for a couple of hours hunched over our computers.

 Sitting for long uninterrupted bouts can have a detrimental effect on our metabolism, circulation and even bone health.  Being in a seated position for extended lengths of time can create muscle imbalances – our posture and back health can be impacted and over the long term it can leave us more susceptible to uncommunicable diseases such as heart disease or type 2 diabetes.

Office workers in particular will spend 70-80% of waking hours seated.  

The good news is standing and moving around for 2-3 minutes every hour can help remedy long hours at our desks.  My issue here is wandering off for half an hour and not being able to remember what I was doing when I come back.

There’s an app that can help us – of course there is, in fact there are a number of them.  I use ‘Stand up’.  It’s free, you can set the hours you want to work within and how often you want it to go off to remind you to stand up and move around.

Another option of course is standing  / walking for your phone calls or standing for your zoom or in person (ACTUAL IN PERSON!) meetings.  In fact holding ‘standing meetings’ has another advantage – they tend to get wrapped up a lot quicker.  Standing more often burns more calories and can have a positive impact on our sleep. 

Introduce some house plants

Indoor air pollution can be caused by VOCs – volatile organic compounds, are tiny chemical particles in the air from the likes of aerosols, cleaning productions, plastic, furniture as well as carbon dioxide.

Plants can improve air quality by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen through photosynthesis, they increase humidity by transpiring water vapor through their leaf pores, and they can absorb pollutants like the aforementioned VOCs, on the external surfaces of leaves and on the plant root-soil system.

In the past studies have shown adding plants to office space to can help employees improve their mood, memory and concentration and possibly contributing to a reduction in headaches, coughs and other chest related illnesses.

In a small room with high levels of natural light, 5-6 plants can have a positive impact. The fast growing, thirsty plants work best e.g. Peace lillies and devil’s ivy.

Mobilise Your Hands!

 Reduce the wrist of carpal tunnel syndrome and repetitive strain injury by the some simple hand and wrist exercises during the day.  Shake out your hands, interlace your hands roll your wrists, make a fist and then stretch your fingers out as far away from each other as you can.  Interlace your hands and push your palms away.  Try ‘spiders doing push ups against a mirror’ touching your finger tips to each other and splay them in and out.  

Exercise your eyes

There’s nothing like staring at a screen for to make your peepers feel tired.  Exercise those ocular muscles with the 20-20-20 rule.  Look at an object 20 metres away from your screen for 20 seconds every 20 minutes.  I was delighted to find out that eye rolls are also beneficial, I’m pretty sure I’d get into the medals in the eye-rolling competition.

Make the most of your lunch hour

Sometimes it’s easier to stay at your desk and work, get a bit of online shopping done, some life admin or just have a rummage around on social media.  But if you can, get moving.  Get out for a walk.  If the weather isn’t lending itself to outdoor activities, get some stretches or even a few strength moves at your desk.  Try some seated cat cows, side stretches, some gentle twists, a seated (on your chair) forward fold where you rest your trunk onto your thighs and enjoy that yummy back stretch.  Or if you’d like to get a little more energetic, some squats to your chair, single leg squats, tricep dips against your chair or push ups off your chair or desk.  

Stay Hydrated

You don’t need to guzzle gallons of water to stay hydrated but keeping a bottle of water on your desk serves as a nice reminder.  We need water to hydrate the brain (it’s 90% water!), digest food and flush out our kidneys and to replace the water we lose through exhaling and sweating.  Try drinking a glass of water before a meal, which can not only hydrate us but can also stop us overeating.  Staying hydrated can help can help reduce headaches and fatigue as well as support our cognition and overall performance.

Men need about 2l of water a day women about 1.6l, if you’re exercising / sweating profusely, you may need more. Herbal teas and milk are also hydrating.   Peeing around 5-7 times a day is about the norm – and it’s another way of getting us up and moving.   

The Benefits Of Exercise Snacks

When I hear the word ‘snack’ – my mind goes to slices of apple and almond butter or those fabulous Nairns coconut oat biscuits, but no, I’m talking about exercise snacks here.  Convenient bitesize chunks of exercise, which we can easily fit into our day and which research has shown to be as beneficial than longer bouts of exercise and in some areas even more beneficial.  

The HSE and NHS recommend a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise (e.g. brisk walking, cycling or any activity where you’re breathing a little harder, upping the heart rate) for adults five days a week.  It doesn’t sound like much however life can get in the way and sometimes 30 minutes can get swallowed up by our day.

So what are the benefits…?

1.     Convenience
One of the top reasons people give for not exercising is time.  But finding 15, 10 or even 5 minutes a few times a day make exercise a lot more accessible.  It might mean getting up 15 minutes earlier to do a quick online class, it might be just doing 3 x sets of squats while you’re in your kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil, if you’re going to be on a call for walk can you put your earplugs in and do it while you’re walking?  Perhaps it’s just going up and down the stairs a few times.  Another convenient thing here is that we don’t need to get changed into our fitness gear or use equipment.  We just need to move.

2.     Boost Metabolism (several times a day!)
Short chunks of exercise during the day may actually help you burn more calories – because you can maintain a higher intensity for a shorter period, but also you’re powering up your ‘engine’ more than once a day benefitting from that afterburn effect of exercise.  

There is evidence from a small number of studies that short bouts of exercise throughout the day can have a more favourable effect on fat loss and LDL cholesterol than longer bouts.

3.     A great way to start to exercise or return to exercise
If you have never exercised before, and it’s never too late to start, short bursts of exercise a few times a day is a great way of easing yourself in gradually.  The same applies if you’re returning to fitness after an injury or illness, start with small chunks and build yourself up, allowing your body to adapt and fitness to rebuild. Be mindful that you should seek clearance from a health professional if you’re starting out or if you are returning after serious health issues.

4.     Improve Your Energy & Productivity
Apparently Dan Brown, author of the ‘Da Vinci Code’ does one minute of push-ups for every hour that he writes. He finds it helps boost his energy and productivity and we all know that sitting at our desk for hours on end can have a detrimental effect. Setting a timer to get up and move every 45 - 60 minutes can be a useful way to help you get snacking.

5.     Enjoy the exercise mood boost several times a day!
Physical exercise works as a trigger for happy hormones, helping to improve our mood and benefitting not just our physical health but our mental health too. 

Snacking just doesn’t get any better!

If you’d like to try out some exercise snacks I’m doing a 15 – 20 minute exercise challenge Monday to Thursday from 7.30 on Insta live.  Join in or do the recording. 

5 Ways To Support Healthy Bones With Diet

From our mid-thirties onwards we are at risk of bone density loss. Women, because of menopause and the depletion of bone protecting oestrogen are at greater risk.  Diet and exercise play an important role in supporting our bone health.  We looked at exercise last week, let’s take a look at how our diet can help us.

1. Calcium is usually the first nutrient that springs to mind when we mention healthy bones, so let’s start there.   We usually associate calcium with dairy.  Whole milk probiotic yogurt is one of the best dairy calcium sources and beneficial for our gut health, with regards to cheese – the harder the cheese, the better the calcium content. Non-dairy sources of calcium include brown rice, kale (also a great source of magnesium), bok choy, chard, cabbage, broccoli, white beans, chickpeas, almonds, sesame seeds, anchovies, sardines, figs.  Phew.

2. Vitamin D – we need this to absorb calcium.  Vitamin D comes from sunshine, oily fish (e.g. salmon, mackerel, trout herrings), eggs, red meat and fortified foods and drinks.  In countries where we don’t get enough sunshine e.g Ireland, it is widely recommended to supplement with Vitamin D from September to May.  (Check with medical/nutrition professional about dosage.)

3. Protein! Usually associated with muscle growth and maintenance, this macronutient is a major structural component of all cells including bone cells, and gives bones its strength and flexibility.  You will find protein in meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, tofu, tempeh, soya/edemame beans, spirulina and quinoa.

4. More micronutrients for bone health include;
   Vitamin K – leafy greens, liver, some fermented cheeses and soya bean products.
   Magnesium – green veggies, nuts, seeds, unrefined grains (e.g. quinoa)`
   Zinc – lean red meat, poultry, whole grain cereals and zinc.

5. Lastly, caffeine, alcohol, fizzy drinks and sodium can all inhibit the absorption of calcium and are therefore in excess, they are not good for our bone health.

 Stay healthy peeps! 

Five Easy Ways to Upgrade Your Diet 💫

Let’s start at the beginning – with breakfast - non-breakfast eaters (you maniacs) just skip along. Porridge is my go-to breakfast, it’s minimally processed, low in fat, no added sugar and it’s so easy to pimp! You can add fruit, (frozen berries are brill), spices (I’m a sucker for cinnamon - helps lower blood sugar), seeds and if you’re looking for a little more protein in your diet you can add a spoonful of protein powder.

Seeds! Pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, linseeds. Full of protein, fibre and healthy fats. I always keep a jar of sweet seeds (dry pan toast first and then add maple syrup and cinnamon and/or mixed spice) for porridge and yogurt and a jar of savoury (dry pan toast first, then add tamari /soya sauce) for soups, stews etc.

Bread, pasta, rice – you know this one - switch the refined whites for wholegrain. The wholegrain versions are lower in sugar and higher in fibre, which we need for good digestion aka keeping things regular.

Stir Fries – remember the eighties when the answer to every vegetarian option was a stir fry? Well it’s time to get wokkin’ again (I just use an ordinary frying pan but can’t resist a pun). Stir fries are a quick and easy way to cook up a load of yummy veg AND include chilli, ginger and garlic – fantastic immune system boosters. A bit of soya or tamari sauce and you’re ready to go. They can even make kale edible (super nutritious but like eating thistles right?)

Stews, curries and soups – ‘tis the season for them. These are another way to up the veggie intake. I always start with a bit of olive oil and sauté onions, garlic and whatever is in the fridge that works well chopped e.g. celery, leeks, carrots, peppers, mushrooms, chilli, once they’re soft I either use tinned plum tomatoes or vegetable stock. I’ll add in 1-2 tins of beans, definitely will add in herbs (so good for you – they weren’t used for remedies for nothing ya know), maybe peas, wholegrain pasta, brussel sprouts (Stop that! I won’t hear a word against them). Use your fabulous imagination. These are perfect for batch cooking and freezing.

Buon appetito!

5 Tips For a Healthier January

1. Aim to get a brisk walk in during daylight hours everyday. Thirty or even twenty minutes will do, you are not only getting exercise but fresh air and daylight too.  While it is recommended we supplement with Vitamin D from September to May (which we need for calcium absorption), we are still getting exposure to vitamin D by being outside.   Daylight and exercise will help boost our mood and can contribute to a better night’s sleep.

2. Have you considered a dry January?!   If you’ve been indulging in the vino over Christmas and think you can go the month without it or at least significantly reducing it, take a selfie now and take one after your booze-free month.  You’ll see a difference and feel it too.

3. Hydrate - At this time of year as we spend more time indoors and with central heating (#grateful) our skin can become dehydrated.  I like to keep a beaker of hot water with a chunk of peeled ginger in it and keep topping it up throughout the day.   Much easier to drink than cold water at this time of year.  If you prefer lemon, remove the peel and bear in mind too much of it can affect your teeth enamel.

4. How about a declutter?  Not to be smug or anything, but i’ve already started (yeah I’m feeling totally smug). I’m slowly making my way around my apartment, and it’s liberating.  I watched ‘The Minimalists’ on Netflix on new year’s day which got me going.  Getting rid of ‘stuff’ you don’t need not only declutters your home, but it’s also good for your mental health. While charity shops are closed during lockdown, recycling centres are still open.   

5. Sleep – getting enough of it is important for our physical and mental health.  Our sleep pattern can get a little out of whack over Christmas, perhaps going to bed later, sleeping in, and then all of a sudden the shock of having to get up for work again.  What better time than a January in lockdown where FOMO is eliminated, to try and get to bed a little earlier, be strict with your devices, power down before you get into bed.  Aim for 8 hours.

   January - bring it on!