“A new study shows that every hour per day spent in front of that monitor raises your risk of early death from heart disease by a whopping 18%—even if you’re not obese and you exercise. It also raises the risk of dying from cancer 8%, and all causes 11%.”

Well how are we supposed to do our jobs if we’re not at the flippin’ monitor? If your work day is anything like mine- everything takes place at the computer, leaving you few options. On that same note, our team works remote a lot of the time, so in order to communicate effectively, we need to be available… via e-mail, chat or Skype. That doesn’t leave much time for me to escape to the gym.

Turns out you don’t have to do that much exercise to tip the scale in your favor, according to this other Newser.com article.

“Some studies say exercise in any dose has little effect on risk of disease, depression, and premature death; others say only very rigorous exercise helps; others say even a walk a few times a week reduces the risk of early death. But what scientists do agree on is that the biggest difference is between no exercise and a little exercise: Moderate activity benefits the sedentary more than a stepped-up workout benefits the athletic.”

It can be difficult to tear yourself away from those beautiful cascading style sheets, or reordering the nav on your newest app’s interface (or in my case, writing about those things), but if you’re not there to finish/maintain your project, what then? Try to take a few minutes each day to get up, take a stroll down the hall to talk to a buddy, wander around the office while you’re on the phone, or walk the couple blocks to lunch instead of driving or cabbing it.

If your job literally requires you to chained to a chair during the day, here are some things I do before and after the usual workday hours to compensate.

• Get up 15 minutes earlier than usual and stretch. It gets your blood pumping and loosens your muscles.

• Go for a morning walk/jog around the block, down to the corner newsstand for the paper, or down to the mailbox. Nothing strenuous. Take the dog. He’ll love it.

• Take the stairs up to the office instead of the elevator. Do it.

• Have gym clothes with you at all times so you can take any opportunity to workout that presents itself.

• Realize that 15 minutes of exercise is better than nothing at all. Even if it’s crunches in your living room during the commercials of your favorite T.V. show.

• Do what you can with the attention span given to you… but these days it’s nearly impossible to get bored while exercising. You have your iPod, possibly a workout buddy, a million televisions stationed around most gyms, and the best form of entertainment of all: people watching. This can also be a good time to let your imagination run wild.

The results of your minor efforts could be… well… dramatic.