Train your brain
How many hours have you spent sitting down so far today? Probably more than you have standing up or walking around. Unfortunately the truth is we spend most of the day working at our desk or sitting down to relax. That’s why we need an awareness of movement during our working day – in the office or at home!
After more than a year in which many of us have been working remotely, plenty of home offices are still rather makeshift. The time has come to change that! As an inspiration we’d like to show you our TENSA.NEXT desk chair, which is designed to promote dynamic sitting, and we also have a few tips to get you moving quickly and easily – to give your brain and body a workout in the break. But why is it so important to keep moving anyway?
How physical activity affects your mental performance
The human brain is a highly complex biological entity. It consists of over 100 billion nerve cells. Scientists today are agreed that the brain structure can change permanently as a result of activity. This isn’t just mental activity, physical activity plays a role too. This was discovered relatively recently. It wasn’t until the advent of modern imaging techniques in 1998 that scientists were able to confirm the regeneration of nerve cells in the brain. So our tips not only help you form new neuronal connections, they also extend your back muscles as well as stretching and rotating your spine.
Side extension and stretch
Stand up straight. Lift your arms up above your head, interlock your fingers, turn your palms to the ceiling and push upwards.
Extend your side muscles and breathe in deeply. Stretch as far to the right as you can and breathe out. Breathe in as you return to the middle position. And then lean to the right. Do this 3 x each side.
Stretching and twisting
Breathe in as you lift your arms up again. Twist your upper body to the right and lower your arms (left arm in front of your body, right arm behind). Look behind you. Move forward again as you breathe in, lifting your arms up and twisting to the left. Do this 3 x each side.
Gentle forward bend
Breathe in as you lift your arms up. Bend your knees slightly and bend your upper body straight forward and down. Let gravity help you, nod your head gently and turn it slightly to the left and right. Then unroll yourself from your lower back to come back up. Repeat this 3 x slowly and carefully.
Moderate but regular movement keeps the metabolism going. That’s why little things are so important too: climbing stairs, standing up and walking around to make a phone call, or regular switching between standing and sitting. Incidentally standing uses twice as much energy as sitting, and increases muscle tension.
New energy for the brain
Brains have a commendable property that researchers refer to as neuroplasticity – meaning it constantly adapts to new demands. It can be trained like a muscle. Blood flow to certain parts of the brain is stimulated by physical activity. This increases oxygen supply, which in turn improves the supply of nutrients, and you can concentrate better. You will feel noticeably refreshed.
Our latest product tip: TENSA.NEXT
The characteristic feature of new-generation healthy office chairs is that they help us to sit more actively, with a focus on movement. We design all our office swivel chairs on the basis of state-of-the-art scientific research, and we are constantly developing new product features and mechanisms that take research findings into account. The new TENSA.NEXT seat has been developed with a DTS mechanism and provides
- seat depth adjustment by 75 mm
- tool-free armrest width adjustment
- the existing multifunctional armrest now has a new connector, and there are three more armrest variants to choose from.
- established features such as the DTS synchro mechanism with seat tilt adjustment – seat: 3 °, backrest 6° – with drop-down front edge on leaning back, dynamic seat, variable armrests, inflatable lumbar support, and much more
For this article we used the following sources:
Voll, Prof. Dr. Stefan und Buuk, Sabine, Steigerung der geistigen Leistungsfähigkeit durch Bewegung, https://fis.uni-bamberg.de/bitstream/uniba/459/1/VollBuuckSteigerungseA2.pdf, letzter Zugriff 14.05.2021
Train your brain, Harvard Health Publishing 2021, 15.02.2021, https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/train-your-brain, letzter Zugriff 14.05.2021