My coaching program with Heroic Coach suggests that when you are focused and working on something to pause every 1000 seconds to get up and move. For those of you who don’t want to do the math, that is every 16 minutes and 40 seconds.
The research is pretty compelling.
“The Annals of Internal Medicine published a study of 8,000 adults that showed an association between prolonged sitting and a risk of early death from any cause. (People who sat for no more than 30 minutes at a time had the lowest risk in that study.) Other research has linked prolonged sitting or other sedentary behavior to diabetes, poor heart health, weight gain, depression, dementia, and multiple cancers.”
On the days when I’m spending time reading or sitting down at the computer, I set a timer on my watch for every 1000 seconds. Then I get up and move. It might be a quick stretch, two minutes of dancing, or a walk to the mailbox. It makes a huge difference in my ability to focus on the task at hand and in how my body holds up throughout the day. It also brings a smile to my soul and that may be the most important part!
For more info and inspiration, check out Brian Johnson’s +1 on the topic.
And here is a fantastic TED Talk by Wendy Suzuki about the brain-changing benefits of exercise. At the end is a quick one-minute routine that works perfectly for the 1000 second breaks.
Give it a try! I’d love to hear about your wins!
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