What are the consequences of a lack of exercise? How does poor office furniture affect movement? And most importantly: What is the solution to prevent a lack of exercise caused by sitting too long at work? We will answer all these questions in detail in this article.
In this article you will learn:
- What is a lack of exercise?
- Lack of exercise due to office work
- 15 Symptoms and Consequences of Lack of Exercise for Health
- The solution: Intuitive movement in everyday work
Reasons for lack of exercise
Lack of exercise has numerous negative effects on our bodies and health. Low levels of physical activity affect the entire organism, and the consequences can be drastic. The main causes of insufficient exercise include our modern lifestyle, among others:
- Shop online instead of going to the store
- Use escalators and elevators instead of taking the stairs.
- Driving short distances by car instead of by bicycle
- Use electric scooters instead of kick scooters.
- Watching sports on the couch instead of doing sports yourself
...as well as our jobs. Office jobs have become an indispensable part of the modern working world. Sitting has become the norm for millions of people. A lack of movement in the workplace is simply part of the package. It's not uncommon for us to sit all day at work in an incorrect posture or on poor equipment, then after work in the car or on the train, and afterwards we immediately relax on the sofa.
The problem of lack of exercise is getting worse.
Studies show that we move even less when working from home than we already did.
“Of the recommended 10,000 steps a day, many people now only manage 2,000 daily. This development is alarming,” says Aeris founder Josef Glöckl.
Do you want to know how to easily incorporate more exercise into your everyday life?
Then be sure to check out our article "More movement in everyday life: How to stay active and healthy" . There we explain how small changes in the office, home office or on the go can already make a big difference.
Especially when working from home, the lack of exercise increases even further. In addition, the right equipment is often lacking.
What does lack of exercise mean?
Definition of lack of exercise:
Lack of exercise refers to a situation where the body's muscles are not sufficiently used. However, just 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of moderate, non-strenuous activity per week is enough to compensate for this deficit. Alternatively, 75 minutes of exercise such as jogging, cycling, or swimming is also sufficient.
The conventional workplace as a cause of lack of exercise
In a conventionally furnished office workplace, static sitting and a persistent lack of movement are inevitable.
Does the following scenario sound familiar to you?
You drive or take the train to the office in the morning. You arrive and make yourself a coffee. Then, cup in hand, you stroll over to your desk. And now what? You sit down! And that's it for movement for several hours. You start your computer and begin working. All your tools – mouse, keyboard, and phone – are within easy reach, so you don't even need to make any "unnecessary" movements for that.
The only exceptions to this are your lunch break and the walk to the meeting - where you then immediately sit down again in a rigid chair.
In many conventional open-plan offices, freedom of movement is often limited. Furthermore, the furnishings are frequently the same for all employees.
In the afternoon, the slump suddenly hits. Everyone knows that feeling: you could sink into your office chair and fall asleep instantly. Once the day is finally over, you drag yourself back to the car or train and head home. A well-deserved evening off and a relaxing night in front of the TV on the couch await you. After a few hours on the sofa, it's time for bed, until the same thing starts all over again the next day.
Sure, we've described this day in a very abbreviated and exaggerated way, but do you see the problem? Lack of exercise is omnipresent in our everyday lives.
Office furniture as a cause of lack of exercise
Conventional offices are often furnished according to economic efficiency criteria. This minimizes the space per employee. Furthermore, the office furniture is standardized and uniform: a desk, an office chair, a monitor, a mouse, and a keyboard. Individual customization to the specific needs of each person is lacking.
However, not all office furniture is equally suitable for everyone. Unfortunately, conventional office design rarely considers the needs of people and potential health risks. On the contrary, in Germany, the requirements for workplace design are precisely defined, among other things, in the German Industrial Standard (DIN).
In a DIN-standardized office workstation, movement during work, or even while sitting, is not provided for at all. What is therefore defined as "ergonomic" actually promotes back pain, headaches, and tension.
Symptoms of lack of exercise and their consequences
Lack of exercise can cause a variety of symptoms and health problems that negatively affect your well-being and quality of life.
Here we have listed the most common signs that you are not getting enough exercise:
16 consequences of lack of exercise
1. Back pain
Back pain is now the number one health problem in Germany. According to an analysis by statutory health insurance companies from 2019, there are around 40 million sick days annually. And the trend is rising.
The reason: When working while seated, we remain in an unnatural position for extended periods. The backrest and armrests cause us to sit in a crooked position. The muscles weaken and can therefore no longer optimally support the spine.
The consequences are poor posture, the so-called rounded back , as well as persistent strain on the spine and intervertebral discs. This strain over a long period can lead to chronic back pain and even a herniated disc.
The solution is obvious: Regular exercise! This trains and strengthens the muscles – the best way to prevent back pain.
A common cause of back pain is a persistently incorrect posture while sitting and too little exercise.
2. Headaches
The causes of headaches are very diverse and can also include other factors such as dehydration. However, the fact remains: Prolonged lack of exercise and the resulting muscle tension (see point 3) can affect the head area.
Prolonged, static sitting also impairs the oxygen supply to the brain. Regular exercise improves breathing and thus the oxygen supply to muscles and brain. This helps prevent headaches.
Tip: In addition to exercise, ensure regular fresh air in the office and ventilate!
3. Muscle tension
Muscle tension in the neck, shoulders, and arms is a painful consequence of lack of exercise. The muscles are constantly tense, resulting in reduced blood flow and hardening after only a short time. If you are already suffering from tension, you can alleviate the pain with three targeted methods.
- Heat: Targeted heat applied to the skin improves blood circulation and loosens tension.
- Exercise: At least 30 minutes of light exercise daily, such as a walk, stimulates blood circulation and loosens the muscles.
- Avoid a protective posture: Despite the pain, pay attention to maintaining a natural body posture.
4. Fatigue
Little movement means little oxygen supply. Furthermore, a hunched posture while sitting prevents you from breathing deeply. This results in a reduced oxygen supply to the brain.
The result: fatigue and exhaustion. This is how, for example, the well-known afternoon slump occurs.
Sitting rigidly reduces the amount of oxygen supplied to the body and brain, which can quickly lead to fatigue and exhaustion.
5. Poor concentration
Reduced concentration is also a consequence of lack of exercise. Your brain can only perform at its best when it is properly supplied with oxygen and nutrients. Besides a healthy diet, exercise is essential for staying mentally sharp and able to concentrate at work throughout the day.
6. Dizziness
Dizziness can be an unpleasant and frightening consequence of a lack of exercise. When the body remains in a static position for extended periods, blood circulation is impaired, which can lead to a reduced supply of oxygen to the brain. This can cause dizziness and a feeling of lightheadedness. Regular exercise promotes blood circulation and ensures that the brain receives sufficient oxygen, thus helping to prevent dizziness.
Tip: Get up regularly and move around for a few minutes to stimulate blood circulation and prevent dizziness.
7. High blood pressure
High blood pressure is a common health problem resulting from a lack of physical activity. Besides lack of exercise, other factors that can lead to high blood pressure include a high-salt diet, high alcohol consumption, and stress.
High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart attacks and strokes. Regular exercise, even at low intensity, noticeably lowers blood pressure.
8. Overweight
The root cause of being overweight is always a positive energy balance. This means that more energy is consumed than the body uses. If we don't get enough exercise, the body switches into "rest mode" and energy consumption decreases.
This lack of exercise, coupled with a frequently poor diet, triggers a boomerang effect. You gain weight and consequently move even less...
A frequently unhealthy diet – eaten quickly while working at a desk – coupled with little exercise: obesity and other long-term problems can be the result.
9. Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes – also known as adult-onset diabetes – does not only affect older people! Especially in our modern world, type 2 diabetes is increasingly common among younger people as well.
The cause is very often a combination of an unhealthy diet (too many carbohydrates, far too much sugar and fat) and a blatant lack of exercise. This leads to a rise in blood sugar levels, and the hormone insulin, produced by the pancreas, is no longer sufficient to break down this sugar adequately.
The result: diabetes. Without treatment, type 2 diabetes can lead to long-term health problems. A healthy lifestyle and medication can prevent this.
10. Cardiovascular diseases
The heart is also a muscle. And muscles need to be moved. Consequently, a lack of movement leads to the heart not being sufficiently challenged and thus losing efficiency.
When the heart is subjected to exertion, such as climbing stairs when one would normally take the elevator, even minor exertion can overwhelm it. This can quickly lead to shortness of breath and dizziness, among other things, as the transport of nutrients and oxygen through the cardiovascular system is impaired.
11. Digestive problems
In fact, lack of exercise is a major risk factor for our digestion.
The reason is quite simple: Movement creates a tensile and compressive load that the organs need to be optimally supplied with blood and to function properly. Furthermore, sitting unnaturally compresses the stomach and intestines, preventing them from expanding freely in the abdominal cavity.
12. Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is damage to the articular cartilage. It occurs most frequently in the shoulders, knees, and hips. However, the hands can also be affected. This joint degeneration develops due to a lack of movement because the cartilage in the joints is not adequately supplied with fluid, and metabolic waste products are not properly removed from the joint. Those affected often suffer from severe joint pain.
Long-term consequences such as osteoarthritis can also occur in the hands, as an unnatural posture is often adopted at work with the mouse or keyboard, and the joints are consequently not relieved enough.
13. Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is the medical term for bone loss. This disease leads to a decrease in bone density and the breakdown of bone mass. The skeleton becomes more brittle. Osteoporosis mostly affects older people, but in recent years it has also become more common among younger people.
Exercise is the best way to counteract bone loss. Why? Because activity puts stress on the bones, thus building up bone mass.
The best prevention against osteoporosis is exercise in the fresh air (for example, a short walk in the sunshine) combined with a calcium-rich diet.
14. Weak immune system
The immune system is also significantly weakened by a consistently low level of physical activity. Physical activity stimulates the production of immune cells. If physical inactivity becomes frequent, the immune system also weakens, making us more susceptible to pathogens and diseases.
15. Increased stress risk
Everyone knows stress! But perhaps you've noticed how good a mood you have after an hour of exercise and how bad you feel in comparison when you "lounge" in an office chair for 8 hours or more.
Stress is a natural reaction to strain. The hormones released put the body on high alert. However, in our digitized world, deadlines, constant availability, social media activity, online meetings, and much more now put us under constant strain. You're stressed!
Exercise is the most important outlet for this. Through physical exertion, such as sports, the hormone serotonin is released, thus reducing stress hormones.
16. Burnout and depression
In the worst case, a persistent lack of exercise not only leads to stress, but also has serious psychological consequences, such as depression or burnout.
Studies have shown that people with a sedentary lifestyle are more susceptible to depression. The increased prevalence of working from home and the resulting lack of social interaction, combined with insufficient physical activity, also increases the risk of depression.
The reason: Just like the body, the mind is not designed to be permanently inactive. This means your brain needs stimulation and constant new input to stay active and healthy.
If stress hormones are not reduced through exercise – for example, through sports – persistent stress can, in the worst case, lead to burnout and depression.
The solution to lack of exercise: Intuitive movement in everyday work life
To effectively prevent the risk factor of lack of exercise, it is important to actively integrate exercise into your daily work routine. Even small amounts of daily exercise significantly reduce the risk of illness.
Integrating intuitive movement into your daily routine isn't as difficult as it might initially seem. You don't need to exercise every day or create a structured "movement plan." Ergonomically designed furniture in your office and home office can help you move more automatically while working, combating back pain and other related issues.
At Aeris, we call this the “Active Office®” concept.
What is the “Aeris Active Office®”?
Fortunately, height-adjustable desks are now more common in many offices than they were a few years ago. However, occasional use alone is not enough to effectively combat lack of movement.
A major problem: “Conventional height-adjustable desks are in the lowered position 90% of the time. That’s not enough movement to really stay productive and healthy,” says Aeris Managing Director Josef Glöckl.
The "Aeris Active Office®" provides a solution. It doesn't follow rigid standards. On the contrary: your office setup becomes a movement space where you can move around intuitively. It's designed to adapt perfectly to each individual.
The Aeris Active Office® Desk allows you to quickly switch between standing and sitting. The Aeris Swopper keeps you moving even when sitting, and with the Aeris Muvmat standing mat, you always stand in an ergonomically correct position.
"For this purpose, we developed the Aeris Active Office® Desk. This desk has two split work surfaces – a sitting work surface and a standing work surface – both of which are height-adjustable. This makes intuitive movement during work and quick switching between sitting and standing very easy."
And the best part: You no longer have to worry about constantly raising and lowering the table, and you don't even have to interrupt your work to switch between sitting and standing.
Learn more about the Aeris Active Office® Desk here.
Tip:
Do you already have another height-adjustable desk? Then it's best to manually set a reminder and try to alternate between standing and sitting at least every 30 minutes.
The Aeris Active Office® is complemented by a movement-promoting office chair such as the legendary Aeris Swopper . This ergonomic office stool keeps you moving even while sitting.
Individual movement concepts for hybrid working
Studies show that we move significantly less when working from home than in a traditional office setting. This means that the modern, location-independent work environment is drastically exacerbating this lack of physical activity.
The problem: Unlike the office, working from home is not legally regulated. Often, the office furniture and technical equipment are significantly inferior to those in the workplace. Many people don't even have a dedicated home office and spend hours sitting on the couch or at the dining table. All of this leads to poor posture, lack of exercise, and health problems.
"With the hyper-personalization of the working world, the office and home office merge."
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But what is the solution to this lack of exercise? Individual exercise programs for every employee. This means that a new set of rules must be created, tailored to each individual.
"We need to break down old thought patterns and stop thinking in terms of categories like office or home office. The focus must be on individualized workplace solutions. That means we should ask ourselves: What do people need to stay physically and mentally fit, productive, and healthy? As they say in English, 'one size fits no one,' and that's true."
"Everyone has different needs, requirements, and personal circumstances. With such 'hyper-personalization' of the working world, the office and home office merge," says Patrick Wurm, Chief Growth Officer at Aeris.
Especially if you frequently switch between the office and home office, you should pay attention to the right equipment at your home workplace.
How does such a personalized movement concept work?
In addition to providing appropriate equipment to promote physical activity, employers have a particular responsibility to combat the lack of exercise.
Patrick Wurm: “Companies need to create flexible and transparent working hours to allow for breaks for physical activity – for example, for sports, shopping during lunch, or housework. Housework and laundry during working hours: What would have potentially been grounds for dismissal in the past should absolutely be considered by employers in their exercise concepts for hybrid working! A short break with physical activity is exactly what we need when working from home to stay refreshed and energized. It sounds very simple, but it's impossible with the old ways of thinking about it during working hours.”
Lack of exercise: Integrate exercises against back pain into the workday
As mentioned several times already, back pain and tension are a common consequence of lack of exercise. To effectively prevent back problems, you can easily integrate a quick back exercise into your workday.
The following exercises from Nike fitness trainer Cecilia Zonta – with and without an office chair – can be done in just a few minutes.
