Talk a walk, pal

Having just returned from a cross-continental flight, the thought of sitting in one place for hours at a time is still very fresh in my mind. You shift, you squirm, and you stretch -- all in efforts to reduce the stress on your legs, though in most cases these measures are done in vain. With this discomfort being the more obvious problem, a more quiet and serious issue could also arise from staying seated for very long periods of time. Deep Vein Thrombosis, or DVT, is a form of potentially fatal blood clots that people sometimes suffer from after spending a great deal of time seated on a plane or, as New Zealand researchers also found, in their office.

Doctors found that among patients with dangerous clots, 34 percent developed this condition from sitting too long at work, while 21 percent were air travelers (the remaining percentage was comprised of a variety of potential causes, including heredity). In some cases, desk workers sometimes spent as much as 4 hours sitting before they stood up even once. By doing so, the circulation in these workers' legs can be restricted, leading to clots and the potential threat of said clots traveling to the lungs.

The simple solution, be you on a plane or simply at your desk at work, is to stand up once and a while and take a short walk. Even this small break will greatly reduce the chances that you will suffer from DVT.