The 3 Best Work-At-Home Health Hacks For Women
Here’s the truth: we’re all searching for the new “normal”. We seek the familiar because (for better or worse) the familiar is what we know and feels safe. While our yearning is completely understandable, as of right now there are too many unknowns to create new societal norms—a new way of life outside of ourselves, our quarantine, or our phasing back into . . . what?!?
It follows then that our normal needs to be within us, an internal resilience, a focus on the elements of our lives we can control: our thoughts, words, and actions—our habits if you will.
As a woman, I’m particularly sensitive to the caregiving stresses many of us are currently experiencing: juggling work and family under one roof, striving to lower stress for family members—especially children—while managing our own stress as well. To get through these very challenging days, we need to be taking really good care of ourselves every day. To be truly successful in taking care of ourselves, the ways in which we take care of ourselves need to fit into our very challenging days. To be a part of our day. Part of your day!
In short, you need daily actions you can take to create whole Self health, no matter what. (That capital S stands for your body, your mind, and your spirit—your whole Self!) To meet that very real need, here are the three best work-at-home (or at-work) health hacks that fit into your day seamlessly and are proven to create health the first time you do them.
#1: A brisk daily walk of at least 25 minutes. Brisk means your pace is rapid enough that you can’t sing but you can still talk. The reasons to walk every day are too numerous to list so I’m going to give you my top three. For your Body—walking treats or prevents over 100 diseases including heart disease the #1 killer of women. For your Mind—walking boosts self-esteem and is a natural anti-depressant. For your Spirit—walking enhances your intuition and connects you to your inner wisdom. I recommend getting a 25-minute walk at lunch to break your work day, and reboot your Self care.
#2: Move More Throughout the Day. To move more, take a 5-minute walk break after 30 minutes of sitting. Do this for your whole Self health because after just 30 minutes of sitting, your metabolism has slowed by 90%. That’s as bad as it sounds. Excessive, prolonged sitting has been linked to a host of diseases, collectively called sitting disease by many health experts. Sitting disease includes back and neck pain, obesity, diabetes, certain cancers, depression, poor job performance and productivity. On those days when sitting in front of the computer is what you need to do, Move More Throughout the Day to reset your metabolism and break the deadly cycle of sitting disease!
#3: Stand More/Sit Less. The simple fact is standing burns more calories than sitting and when you’re not sitting for excessive periods of time, you’re healthier. Some health experts recommend standing at work for at least 2 hours per day and working your way up to 4 hours. To get started, become standing aware. Make a list of tasks you can perform standing vs sitting and do one or two per day. Examples are: stand to text and stand to talk on the phone. Just those two bits of conscious movement will make a difference in your whole Self health—starting today!
By integrating these three health hacks into your day, you’re creating whole Self health every day. Shift your thinking from, “I’ve got to get a workout!” to “I can create health today no matter what!” It’s not a workout but a work-in; a work-in to your busy day.
Do this for just one week and you will feel a difference! But know this: the difference starts the first time you choose even one of these health hacks. Right then and there, in that moment, you’ve created health. Hooray!
To make these health hacks sustainable, become a member of the One Million Women Walking movement. These 3 simple hacks are our daily Practice! Join us to experience the support of our like-minded, like-hearted community of women connecting to create whole Self health every day—starting today!
I can’t wait to walk with you!
