If you spend all day sitting at work, you may notice that you have more than a few aches and pains. This is especially worrying if you’re only in your 20s or 30s, but it’s becoming increasingly common and a sign that if you don’t start getting enough exercise, you’ll be in much more pain when you’re older.

Spending all day sitting, regardless of whether you work in an office or at home, is terrible for our health. Sitting down all day will often give you shorter tendons in your hips, a sore back and neck, and many other issues.

It’s easy to spend hours sitting in front of your computer and forget to get up and move unless you really need a trip to the bathroom. It’s common to suddenly realise you’ve been sitting in the same spot and haven’t moved for hours. One good way to get some incidental exercise is to set an alarm on your phone and get up whenever it goes off. Whether you go grab a drink of water or a coffee, to speak to a colleague, or file some documents in filing cabinets from Furniture at Work, there are many ways to ensure you get out of your office chair.

This is also why office yoga is becoming so popular. It’s a great way to make sure you’re staying flexible while you’re at work. A great stretch is the Seated Double Hamstring stretch which is great for your lower back and also improves circulation while easing leg tightness.

All you need to do is sit at the very edge of your chair, and place your feet on the ground with your legs stretched out straight in front of you. Grab a towel and wrap it around the balls of your feet, raise your chin, and try to lengthen your back, lift your sternum and lean forward (from your hips). You want to lean forward as far as you can with your back and knees straight (it’s fine if you can’t get that far forward at first, this will come with time).

Another good option is the Tangled Headphones position, which involves bending your knee and placing your foot on the opposite thing. You then wrap your arms around each other until your hands meet, and lean forward, straightening your spine.

A great way to open up your chest and stretch your back is the Successful Report. If you’ve ever done yoga before, this position may look familiar, but you basically want to sit on the very edge of your chair, bend your front leg, straighten your back leg, position your arms out on straight on either side of you, and lean towards your right leg, facing that direction. Next, lean backwards, look along your arm, and take a deep breath into the side of your body.

As you can see, there are a number of excellent exercises and stretches you can do to keep yourself healthy when working in an office.