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4:05 AM 31st July 2021
lifestyle

Healthy Heart Tips: Workplace Health

 
Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by Dr Helen Flaherty, Head of Health Promotion at Heart Research UK

Many of us will spend up to 40 hours of our week working. Therefore developing good habits during this time can lay the foundations for a heart-healthy lifestyle.

Whether you commute to a workplace or work from home, here are some tips for keeping your heart healthy during the working day:

Integrate Structured Exercise

Taking some time to run at lunch, commute on your bike, or attend the gym before work, can all be great ways to not only maintain your fitness, but also improve productivity at work.

Break it Up

Many of us will sit for long periods and therefore breaking this up with short bouts of activity can help to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system. Try setting a timer every hour to take a short walk around the house and cut down meetings from 60 to 45 minutes to give you a break in-between for some activity.

Avoid Nearby Snacks

Having snacks on our desks or nearby can lead to mindless eating. If you do choose to have a mid-morning snack, opt for heart-healthy options such as unsalted nuts or fresh fruit, and use the break as an opportunity to get away from your desk.

Manage Your Time

It can be easy to get carried away with tasks that may not be a priority, which can lead to feeling overwhelmed and stressed. It can be useful to take 15 minutes at the beginning of every day to plan your time.

Manage your Energy

We can invest a lot of our mental energy into work which can leave us feeling burned out and de-motivated towards the end of the day, meaning we are less likely to sleep well, exercise and cook a healthy meal. Find out what time of day you work best and prioritise completion of important tasks during this period and avoid scheduling back-to-back meetings where possible.

Heart Research UK
Proud to stand out from the crowd, Heart Research UK is the charity dedicated to your heart. They inspire and invest in pioneering medical research, ground-breaking training and education, and in communities to improve their heart health for themselves. For over 50 years they have driven advancements in the prevention, treatment and cure of heart disease to benefit patients as soon as possible.


For more healthy tips, recipes and advice, visit heartresearch.org.uk