MLM Tips – Don’t Let An Upholstered, Height-adjustable Health Hazard Get You!

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This is not  your conventional  MLM tips type post, however,  choose to ignore this and the consequences could be quite dire for you, your business and family!

I’m especially speaking to you if you primarily use the Internet for business and do it full time. If you do there’s every chance you sit for prolonged periods. Well the science is in…. doing so is very bad for you no matter where you’re doing it!

I’m assuming you’re in business to have time and money freedom to enjoy your life, not to spend your millions subsidizing expensive medical treatments  or to spend your free time cooped up in hospital? Here are some good reasons to take action to prevent this from happening.

I can’t take any credit for the zanny definition in my title. It belongs to a certain Lisa Christopher who wrote an article entitled “Beware The Chair” for the Sydney Morning Herald. At first I found the article interesting and then I realized she was speaking about me. Maybe you too?

The article refers to an Australian study published in the journal, Circulation in January. It found that for every hour a person spends sitting in front of the television, their individual risk of death from all causes rose 11 per cent, their risk of death from cardiovascular disease rose 18 per cent and their risk of dying from cancer, 9 per cent.

And just before you think that the dreaded “box” was the culprit, think again, the study emphasized that the research was not about TV watching per se but about sitting, wherever it might be.

Oh and if you thought your three times a week jog or swim was a solution, it isn’t, not because exercise isn’t good for you, it is, however the problem I’m highlighting here is directly related to how much time you spend seated when not exercising.

Basically in developed westernized countries, all we do is shift from chair to chair throughout the day: we sit to have breakfast, sit  in the car, sit in the office and sit on the sofa at home. I bet you’re sitting right now?

Most of us also know from experience that  sitting for too much of the time does not help our waistlines in any way either because it just slows our system right down. According to Dr. James Levine, professor of medicine with the Mayo Clinic in Australia, you increase your metabolic rate between 10 and 20 per cent above resting simply by getting up off your chair without walking anywhere.

I discovered that some corporate companies in Australia are now exploring how they can reduce sitting in the work place without reducing productivity. Initiatives include “stand up meetings” (not for three hour marathon ones I presume!), standing up for the last 10 minutes of very hour and placing treadmills around offices to encourage employees to experiment with walking at slow speeds while reading documents. I wonder whether the occupational health experts like this one?

How much time do YOU spend sitting when working on your business? Whether you believe that the long term effects quoted are true or not, why would you want to take any chances when you can take some preventative action today ?

I’ve come up with the following ways you can break the habit of prolonged sitting:

• Take hourly breaks. Stand up, stretch and walk around. If you’re anything like me you’ll forget, so use this handy online stopwatch.
• Place your phone in a place where you have to stand up to get it.
• Make a rule that every time you’re on the phone (and that should be a lot!) you stand while speaking.
• Use a wireless headset and stand for part of webinars you attend.
• Keep the rubbish bin in a place that requires you to stand up and walk to it.
• Stand up every time you sign up  a new team member.

Maybe you have some more ideas on how to break the prolonged sitting habit? If you do I’d love to hear  about  them so please leave a comment.

My goal?  Helping you achieve yours!

PS. Please spread the word by clicking the “Bookmark and Share” button below, or by sharing it on Facebook & re-tweeting it on above. Thank you.

Photograph of woman sitting – courtesy of  Michael R , Other photo – courtesy of http://sxc.hu

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