A sedentary lifestyle aka sitting disease, causes health problems including obesity, diabetes, shoulder and back pain, and ocular disorders. Here’s a simple guide for your family to mitigate its pains and problems, writes Mini P.

The past two years of the pandemic during which adults and children have been working and learning from home has resulted in massive lifestyle changes defined by reduced physical activity and long hours of sitting at desks for online classes and work meetings. Even during leisure time parents and children were slouched on the couch watching television, browsing social media and/or playing video games. This sedentary lifestyle aka sitting disease, causes health problems including obesity, diabetes, shoulder and back pain, and ocular disorders.

Here’s a simple guide for your family to mitigate its pains and problems. Set a ‘Health check’ reminder/alarm on your computer/mobile every hour. Every time it buzzes, stop your work and engage with one of these activities.

▪ Keep a water bottle handy at your desk. Take a break from work every hour by standing up to sip water. Once a day go over to the kitchen to get a lemon and add it to the water.▪ Stand up, walk around, and stretch every hour. If your chair doesn’t provide adequate back support, use a small pillow or rolled-up towel to support the lower back.

▪ Bad posture causes back pain. When seated, keep your feet flat on the floor and knees at 90 degrees. Don’t slouch while working. Stand/ walk around when using your mobile phone.

▪ Use the restroom in another bedroom or next floor. This way you get to walk a bit or take a flight of stairs.

▪ Snacking on healthy fruits provides much-needed energy. Choose easy-to-eat fruits such as grapes, bananas, cucumber and carrots. Roasted seeds such as pumpkin, sunflower, watermelon, flax and melon seeds are high on nutrition and antioxidants.

▪ Breathing exercises are a great stress buster. Close your eyes and relax consciously. Inhale through your nose, as deeply as you can. Then exhale through the mouth. Do this 5-10 times. This is a good stress-reliever and improves oxygen flow in the body.

▪ Schedule a brisk 10-minute walk during your lunch break. If this is not possible, run up and down the stairs for five minutes. Brisk walking or climbing stairs protects against heart disease and prevents weight gain.

▪ Take a break every two hours for a quick five-minute exercise routine. Exercise your wrists, neck, back and legs, alternating between these through the day. This will ease back pain and neck strain caused by long sedentary hours.

▪ Your eyes need frequent breaks from digital screens. ‘Palming’ improves blood circulation and relaxes eye muscles. Lean elbows on your desk and cover the eyes with both palms (slightly cupped), with palms crossing each other slightly. Rotate your eyeballs, five times in one direction, then five times in the other.