You may be designing websites, programming, twittering and facebooking but these verbs don’t count as exercise. It is a simple but unescapable fact: The more you sit the less fit you’ll become. If your job revolves around the computer screen then you need to take some real steps to be as healthy as possible to keep your muscles and cardiovascular system healthy.
Get Up
Every hour or so you need to get up and stretch, walk up and down the stairs, do some leg lifts or even get away from the computer and take a brisk 10 or 20 minute walk, jump on the treadmill or pedal on the stationary bike.
Drink Water
Out of sight is out of mind. What beverage is sitting on a coaster next to your keyboard? A bottle or glass of water? A soda? A cup of coffee? That bottomless cup of coffee can leave you jittery and anxious and disrupt sleep. Eight ounces of a regular soda has about 150 calories and most bottles of soda are two or more servings. Put your water into a reusable and washable bottle and refill it regularly. Make it your goal to drink 3-4 eight ounce servings of water a day.
Eat regular meals
Take a break from the computer and eat balanced balanced meals that feature lean meat/fish/poultry, vegetables and whole grains. Avoid highly processed foods that are high in sodium, fat and sugar.
Exercise
Get at least 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week. If you need to lose weight increase that to 60-90 minutes most days.
I’ve been doing everything BUT exercising. That’s why I’ve been feeling so dead at work! I guess I’m going to have to step up my game.
I think it would be a wonderful world indeed if it was possible to take out 20 minutes every hour for a stroll.
My only issue is that none of this is specific to web workers and much of this advice is obvious.
As a developer I often do 2-3 hour stints in front of the computer, I then stand on the balcony for 5-10 minutes, get some fresh air and clear my head, then get back to it. Its how I need to work to so I can get off at 5:30-6pm. Breaks are great but ultimately they mean longer working and less personal time. Less time equals more stress, less fun and less time to get out and socialise.
You have touched on exercise but do not give any information on why it is good. Personally I exercise most days, I find a sleep better and wake up easier after a work out. However, as a web worker I don’t quite understand how a person exercising frequently would perform better than someone not.
Regular meals is obvious for most people, however again you do not really talk about why this matters. What is wrong with a bag of crisps for breakfast, some chips for lunch and a microwave meal for dinner? Oh no! Salt! Calories! I mean honestly, would diet benefit my work?
If you could link regular meals + exercise with higher productivity then this article would have been worth reading. As is it just seems to be a reminder to do the obvious.