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Happy Hour is 9 to 5

Learn How To Love Your Job, Love Your Life and Kick Butt at Work

By Chief Happiness Officer Alexander Kjerulf

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The body at work

Physician Claus Hyldahl, an expert in work-related stress and diseases, rarely pulls any punches. In fact his style involves provoking working professionals to direct their attention to the fact that their lifestyle is bad for them. Says Hyldahl: “Many of the people who think that they’re suffering from workplace stress are just out of shape. That’s why they’re sweating, breathing heavily, their heart is pounding and they’re feeling weak. Not stress, simply bad physical shape. They don’t need to reduce their workload they need to increase their physical load.”

He goes on to talk about the fact that the human body is designed to be used. “Human beings evolved from nomads and consequently evolution has optimized our bodies to a nomadic lifestyle, i.e., one that involves a lot of walking. Walking 10km a day is what we’re built for and sitting still is bad for us. In fact, the typical, modern, sedentary way of life is is as bad for your health as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.”

In many workplaces the body has been reduced to “that thing that carries the head from one meeting to the next.” That’s not good. Even though more and more work today is knowledge-based and goes on mainly inside people’s heads, your body still matters because the body’s state directly influences your mental state. If your body is tired and has no energy, you will find it very difficult to be motivated, creative and productive.

The problem is that many of the habits of modern workplaces are unhealthy. We sit still all day, eat too much, drink too much coffee, experience emotional stress and adopt unhealthy postures. The result: Back problems, heart problems, weakened immune defenses, diabetes, low energy, migraines, shoulder and neck pain, and much more.

It’s high time that we start treating our bodies right at work.

Eat right

In a Danish study from 2005, two groups of truck drivers were given a controlled diet for two days. One group had healthy food, designed to stabilize their blood sugar levels. The other group ate junk food. Yes, the sacrifices some people make in the name of science.

The drivers were then placed in a truck simulator that tested their driving. The study found that the drivers who lived on junk food had slower reactions. When going 70 kph. on a highway, they needed 30 meters more to notice a traffic block ahead and stop the truck than the drivers eating healthy food. Who knew that burgers could be a traffic hazard...¹

What you eat matters greatly for your energy, productivity and happiness at work. Controversially, the most important tip is to eat between meals. We’ve been told since we were children to not do it, but it’s a well-known fact that when people’s blood sugar drops below a certain level they get tired and grumpy. I often notice this in myself—I start getting cranky, even the smallest things annoy me, and I snap at people. An apple later, I’m fine.

Rather than eating a huge lunch meant to last you all the way until dinner, eat a smaller lunch and an afternoon snack or two. Make sure to snack on foods that take the body a long time to digest. A chocolate bar hits your body with a brief sugary energy rush and then leaves you with a lower blood sugar level and feeling more tired than before. Apples, nuts, granola bars or carrots give your body an energy boost that lasts much longer. Eat healthy and often.

Chart your energy

Here's a fun little exercise. For a week, notice how energetic you feel throughout the day and write it down hourly. You can set your watch or your calendar program to alert you once an hour. Then write down how much energy you have at that particular moment on a scale from 1-5. 1=Near-coma, 5=Totally energetic.

After a week, make a graph of your numbers and see if any trends emerge. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Are there some recurring peaks or slumps?

• Does your energy slump after meals? Try eating less.

• Does your energy slump between meals? A snack around that time could help.

• How does your work load and energy levels match up? Are you awake when you need to be?

• Is your energy generally low? Some exercise might be the answer.

• Is there a better way to schedule your work, depending on your energy levels?

• Are you always tired in the morning? Maybe you can start you day later. Or maybe a different breakfast is the key.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

8 AM

9 AM

10 AM

11 AM

12 AM

1 PM

2 PM

3 PM

4 PM

5 PM

6 PM

Use se this table, or the spreadsheet for this exercise at the book's website.

Move

As Claus Hyldahl points out, our bodies are not designed for inaction. Fortunately, there are many simple ways to add some movement to a workday:

• Stand-up meetings—Meetings also take less time that way.

• Stand up and work—Provided your desk raises to that level.

• Use a ball instead of a chair—Those big exercise balls make excellent office chairs.

• Go for a walk—Stretch your legs and get some fresh air at the same time.

• Play a game—A quick game of tag or catch is always fun.

There is also plenty of advice about the correct posture for desk-bound workers: Sit up, back straight, neck straight, correct lumbar support… the list goes on. In fact, it matters less how you sit and more that you’re constantly changing position. It’s not that the tips are wrong, but even if your posture is picture-perfect, holding one position all day is bad for you. Change your position at the desk constantly. Put your feet up. Stand. Sit. Reverse your chair and straddle the back. Turn your chair sideways. Lie on the floor. Lean against a wall. Just move!

Sleep right

As life gets busier, both at work and outside of it, many people have cut down on their sleep time. This is not a good idea. According to the National Sleep Foundation (no I didn't know there was such a thing either), most adults need 7–9 hours of sleep a night, yet the overwhelming majority of people report that they do not get enough. When sleep deprived, people think and move more slowly, make more mistakes, and have difficulty remembering things².

That 7 a.m. meeting may sound like a good way to get more out of the day, but if everyone turns up tired, cranky and uncreative from lack of sleep, it may be nothing but a huge waste of time.

You can even sleep on the job. Some people find that a 15-minute powernap some time after lunch is just the ticket to stay fresh and energetic throughout the afternoon. According to the American National Institute of Mental Health, a nap enhances information processing and learning. Also, new experiments at Harvard University show that a midday snooze reverses information overload and that a 20 per cent overnight improvement in learning a motor skill is largely traceable to a late stage of sleep that some early risers might be missing³.

Make sure that you get the right amount of sleep—and the time you spend at work will be much more productive.

All the usual stuff

Yes, if you’re overweight you should lose some of it. If you smoke, you should quit. If you drink too much, try moderation. If you’re a coffee-holic, cut down a little. If you don’t exercise, start now.

Aside from the negative health effects, each of these vices decreases your physical energy. Less energy means less motivation, drive, productivity and happiness at work. When your body is tired, your mind won’t be running at full capacity either.

Take five

It’s important to simply notice what’s happening in your body. Take a little time out every day to reduce stress and clear your mind. Here’s an exercise to help you do it. You can also download this exercise as an mp3 file from the book’s website.

1. Find a place where you won’t be interrupted

Somewhere with no phones, no computers, no co-workers dropping by with a quick question. Some companies are creating quiet rooms for just this purpose, but at a pinch the bathroom works just fine.

2. Close your eyes

Just sit there for a minute or so and relax while you focus on your breathing. You don’t have to breathe in any specific way, just notice it. Is it fast or slow? Is it deep or shallow? The way you breathe says a lot about your mental state. When you’re angry, stressed or afraid your breathing is fast and shallow. When you’re happy, relaxed and calm your breathing is deep and slow. Do this for about a minute.

3. Breathe deeply and slowly

Just sit there with your eyes closed and take deep, slow, effortless breaths. Do this for two minutes. Your mental state affects your breath, but that link also goes the other way. Deep, slow breathing relaxes you.

4. Focus on yourself

Ask yourself these three questions:

1. How is my body feeling? Is there any pain? Any tense muscles? Any good feelings?

2. What emotions am I feeling? Am I happy, angry, calm, sad, excited? All of the above?

3. What am I thinking? What occupies my thoughts?

You don’t need to do anything about any of this—just sit there for a minute and ask yourself these questions while you keep your breathing deep and slow. There are no right or wrong answers—just notice whatever comes up for you.

5. Breathe some more

Take another minute to just sit there with your eyes closed and breathe calmly and deeply. Then, slowly open your eyes and return to work.

This simple exercise only takes five minutes out of an entire workday, but it reduces stress, makes you more creative and gives you more energy. And, most importantly, it works as an early warning system. When work gets hectic, it’s easy to miss the early signs that things are not going well. Things like tense shoulders and neck, headaches, itchiness, anger, shortness of breath, or restlessness can all be early symptoms of stress. This exercise will help you actually notice these symptoms before they become more serious and turn into migraines, depression, chronic pain, stress, or worse.

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