Healthy Meetings

Do you ever get tired of sitting all day – in class, at work, in meetings? All that time sitting adds up. In fact, Americans now sit an average of 9.3 hours per day. That’s more than most people sleep!

The research is clear that sitting is bad for our health, especially for hours on end. A recent study  announced that for every hour of sitting a person’s life expectancy is decreased by 21.8 minutes. To put it into perspective, smoking one cigarette reduces life expectancy by 11 minutes on average.

So, sitting could be the new smoking. And we do a lot of it. But how can we move more when we need to work or study??

Top executives are lacing up their sneakers and taking meetings on the road. Silicon Valley executive Nilofer Merchant  is doing just that. Since starting her walk-and-talk meetings, Merchant now walks between 20-30 miles per week. Check out Merchant’s inspiring Ted Talk, “Got a Meeting? Take a Walk” .

These meetings benefit more than just your waistline. “Something about being side by side lends itself to facing into a problem together,” said Merchant.

Others are catching onto the idea, too. “Walking meetings are great for brainstorming, giving feedback, and hashing through tough problems,” adds Kristin Galliani, another walk-and-talker.

For your next meeting or group project, why not try this yourself? Check out this Forbes article  for tips on how to hold a walking meeting. Go to Google Maps  and create a walking route around campus.

So, lace up those shoes and let us know how it goes! Comment on this blog to share with us what you learned or any great walking routes you discover!

Claudia Gilmore

UCLA Student