Learn how to study and work more effectively.

Earlier this year, I heard a teacher say something that gave me a jolt.

Just before I was about to start delivering a presentation, he said to his students:

“You need to sit still during this talk. Don’t fidget!”

It was one of those moments where I thought, “Do I say something about that? Or do I stay quiet?”

Not wanting to undermine this teacher, I held my tongue. Had I been more courageous in that moment, I would have said this to the students:

“Listen up, I’m okay with you fidgeting. If you need to get up and move at any point during this presentation, go for it.”

Look, I know what it’s like to be a fidgety student. When I’m forced to sit for long periods, I start to fidget too.

To keep fidgeting at bay, I’ve developed a range of simple strategies that I incorporate into my day.

Here’s what I’ve discovered…

My body needs to move every 20 to 30 minutes. If I can get up and move regularly, I feel calm and steady. My body and mind feel good.

But if I suppress my need to move, I become sad and sluggish.

Without consciously realising it, I’ve designed my life to avoid sitting. My environment nudges me to move.

These days, I hardly ever use a car, which I’m relieved about for several reasons. Yes, there’s the astronomical price of petrol due to Trump’s illegal war and the environmental impacts of driving. But most of all, I really dislike driving. It turns out, I’m not the only person who feels this way.

Research by Nobel Prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman found that commuting to and from work in a car is one of the least enjoyable daily activities.

Instead of driving, I ride my bike and walk wherever possible. I also work from home and use a treadmill desk for several hours each day.

Building regular movement into my day and decreasing my sitting time has made a world of difference.

It’s a rare day when I feel a bit off. If I do feel a bit flat, it usually comes down to one of two things: a lack of movement or a poor night’s sleep.

If you’ve been feeling a bit sluggish, it may be that your chair is getting you down and keeping you down. According to Dr James Levine, you could benefit from a chair release strategy to regain your personal power.

Dr Levine encourages us to release ourselves from our chairs. He says when you escape the chair, you free yourself from “a sedentary psychological imprisonment that forbids self-propulsion, self-expression and self-fulfilment”.

In his book Get Up! Why Your Chair is Killing You and What You Can Do About It, Dr Levine argues that we didn’t evolve to sit for long periods. He states:

“The goal of sitting is to give our bodies a break from standing, which is the way the human anatomy and physiology is designed. Human design is to be upright for most of the day: walking to work, walking and nurturing our young, walking while inventing, walking while gathering our food, running on the hunt. Sitting, we know from studies in rural populations, is supposed to be undertaken in short batches to break up the motion of a dynamic day.”

In short, our bodies are designed to move.

It may come as a surprise to learn that for centuries, chairs were luxury items that signalled status and power. Only the elite owned chairs.

Fast forward to today: there is no shortage of chairs. Chairs are everywhere and for everyone. They dominate our landscape and our lives.

It seems completely normal to sit all day. Sitting doesn’t have the same stigma attached to it as smoking does.

Chairs: “Agents of Death”

Dr Levine refers to chairs as “agents of death” because of the harm they can inflict on our minds and bodies. I have to admit, at first, I found the characterisation of chairs as “agents of death” a little over the top. But as I learnt more about the science of prolonged sitting, I understood why Dr Levine took such a strong position.

According to multiple studies, prolonged sitting shortens our lifespan. This study found that for every hour we spend sitting, life expectancy decreases by 22 minutes.

All those hours of sitting add up. I crunched the numbers and discovered that 8 hours of sitting each day for a year reduces a person’s lifespan by 44 days. Over 10 years, you’ve shortened your lifespan by 446 days. Let me put this in context . . .

Over 100 years, instead of living to 100, you’d live to approximately 90.

But it’s not just about lifespan. It’s about healthspan (i.e. the number of years spent in good health) and your overall wellbeing. Regular physical movement adds years to your life and life to your years.

Sitting for long periods is clearly harmful, so why is it that so many ‘fidgety’ students who feel the need to move are medicated and made to feel like they are defective?

When I was a high school and university student, I found myself thinking, “Why can’t I sit still like everyone else? Why do I feel the urge to jump out of my chair and do some karate kicks and star jumps?”

But it turns out, we’re not defective. The problem is the way our modern environment is designed. The modern environment is completely out of whack and out of sync with what our bodies need.

Hypersensitive to ‘Move-it’ signals

Dr Levine’s research found fidgeters are super sensitive to ‘Move-it’ signals.

What’s a ‘Move-it’ signal?

It’s a signal we receive from a tiny area in our brain called the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothamalus. This signal tells us to move.

Dr Levine explains that our body sends us these ‘Move-it’ signals when we’ve been sitting for too long. Some people ignore these signals, while others (i.e. fidgety people) are super sensitive to them.

When we receive one of these signals, fidgety types take action. They move their bodies in whatever way they can. It could be a leg tapping under the desk or spontaneously getting up to go for a walk.

The problem is that our society is designed to suppress this pulse to move. Our challenge is to find ways to move in environments designed for sitting.

I know it’s not easy to move in most workplaces, classroom settings, and home offices, but it’s not impossible. I’m living proof that it can be done.

Simple ways to incorporate more movement into your day

Below I list a number of strategies I use to avoid prolonged sitting.

Just to be clear, I still use chairs (I use them when my legs need a break, when I mind map, eat dinner, etc). But movement is the main meal and sitting is more of a condiment!

1. Create a habit of exercising first thing

I always start my day with some form of physical activity. Before I touch my work or study, I do at least 20 minutes of physical exercise (e.g., running on a treadmill and riding a bike). Creating a habit of morning movement is key.

Once the habit is established, you’re starting your day with power and giving your brain the boost it needs to learn new ideas.

2. Use a walking pad or treadmill desk

When I’m writing or performing admin tasks, I use a treadmill desk. It’s been an absolute game-changer.

You don’t have to fork out thousands of dollars for a treadmill desk. I made my own using a treadmill my friend no longer wanted and a plank of recycled wood.

Technically, using a treadmill desk is a form of multitasking (I’m walking and working at the same time), but I’m walking at a slow, steady pace, which doesn’t require a lot of cognitive resources. This means my mind is freed up to focus on other tasks.

3. Set up a little exercise corner in your office/study space

In the corner of my office, you’ll find a rack of dumbbells, an exercise bike, a yoga mat, and various other pieces of gym equipment. Most of this equipment I purchased secondhand for an absolute bargain.

Setting yourself up with some simple gym equipment at home means there are fewer barriers to movement and lots of cues to move. It’s also a huge time saver. When I started training at home, I went from spending 30 minutes a day driving to and from the gym down to zero.

4. Stand up

Standing is better than sitting. If you’re up on your feet, you’re more likely to move. This is why I recommend using a sit-stand desk if you’re not quite ready to try a treadmill desk or walking pad.

5. Always be looking for opportunities to move

I make it a personal challenge to look for opportunities to move wherever possible.

For instance, when I catch the train into the city, I always take the stairs instead of the escalator (it’s fun to see if I can beat the people going up the escalator). If I’m watching a webinar or video, I’ll walk on my treadmill while listening and learning. I find that when other participants look like they are dozing off or checking their emails, I’m still sharp and focused.

6. Finished a work task? Get up and move

When you’ve completed your work and have a few minutes to spare, get up and go for a walk before you start the next task. This is a great way to replenish your mental energy.

7. Make your breaks and meetings active

When it’s morning tea or lunch time, get up and walk, kick a football, shoot hoops, etc. Even five minutes of walking around the block or schoolyard will work wonders for your mind and body.

You could also suggest walking meetings where you walk and talk. A research study called Give your ideas some legs from Stanford University found that people have significantly more creative ideas when they walk compared to when they sit.

8. Use your hands to doodle

I even find that something as simple as moving my hands by drawing pictures to capture ideas during a lecture helps to release some energy and keep my mind focused on the task at hand.

9. Use a timer to trigger movement

Immediately after I sit down at my desk, I set a timer for 20 minutes. As soon as that timer goes off, I’m up and moving. I usually hop on my treadmill or my stationary bike for a five minute exercise snack.

10. Listen to your ‘Move-it signals’

Many of us have learnt to ignore our innate pulse to move. Start paying attention to your ‘Move-it’ signals and acting on them whenever you can.

For me, when a ‘Move-it’ signal strikes, I first sense it in my legs. That’s my cue to get up and move. If I can’t get up and walk, I’ll engage in micro-movements, such as tapping my foot or changing my seat position.

11. Swap passive activities for active ones

The more you move, the more you want to move. These days, instead of sitting and bingeing a Netflix series, I find I want to engage in more physical activities, such as going for bike rides and bush walks with friends.

12. Reframe travel time as ‘breathers’

Travelling from one place to another can feel like a drag, so naturally, we want to speed it up by taking the car. But it doesn’t have to be this way. I view riding my bike to the shops or walking to the post office as great opportunities to take a mental break and get some movement in.

In his book Time Surfing, Zen Monk Paul Loomans states:

“…travelling can be far more than purely functional. Take advantage of the fact that you’re out and about for a while. You’re in the fresh air and can feel the sun, rain or wind on your skin. You meet people, you see the cherry blossoms, you hear a blackbird singing – the world is full of delights to draw your attention. And best of all…you’re with yourself!”

13. Get a fidget toy

Fidgeting with a paper clip, some silly putty, or anything that feels good in your hand can help us feel more alert and a bit more playful. In the book The Extended Mind, Annie Murphy Paul explains that this sense of playfulness induces a positive mood, which helps us to learn more effectively, boosts our creativity, and makes us more flexible in our thinking.

To sum up

Moving our bodies is an essential ingredient for living a happy and healthy life. It also gives us the edge when it comes to learning and generating creative ideas.

So, get yourself a spunky bike, some exercise equipment for your study or office space, and invest in some comfy walking shoes. Trust me, this will be money well spent.

By adding more movement to your day, you’ll experience energy, happiness, and a sense of freedom like never before.