Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Leave the Office for Lunch

During the modern office’s daily grind, a growing number of us have resorted to spending our lunch breaks hunched over crumb-filled keyboards. Paralyzed by anxiety that spending an hour away from our desk might mean overlooking a significant e-mail or missing an important deadline; we have become hostage to our fear of lunching out (FOLO). With scientific research linking prolonged sitting time to premature mortality and chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer, here, then, are our ‘Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Leave the Office for Lunch’.

1. Mental Wellness
Being cooped up in an office all day staring at a monitor, with a to-do list longer than your arm, is enough to drive anyone crazy. Add ‘eating lunch at your desk’ to this scenario, and you’ve got 99 problems, and that sandwich (at your desk) is one. Opting to ‘lunch out’ is a great way to leave your work at work, reduce stress levels and preserve your sanity.

2. Exercise
Employees with sedentary jobs are at increased risk from chronic diseases and a shortened lifespan. Leaving the office and taking a brisk walk to a nearby restaurant for lunch, therefore, encourages a daily routine that will improve your health through a combination of regular exercise, increased mobility and fresh air.

3. Stimulate Creativity & Drive Productivity
Medical studies suggest health and concentration are significantly improved by regular workday breaks. Enjoying lunch outside the office environment allows your brain to breathe, which encourages creative thinking and fresh solutions to work-based problems; it also boosts productivity among workers, who return refreshed and motivated.

4. Encourage Mindful Eating Habits
Multitasking a desk-lunch with work essentially means your attention is as poorly focused on the task at hand, as it is the food being mechanically shoveled into your mouth. Mindless eating ultimately leads to poor nutritional decisions and unsatisfactory meals. Stepping away from your desk at lunchtime not only increases awareness of what you’re consuming, it also means you will enjoy your food more and reap the benefits of a health-conscious diet.

5. Write Lunch off as a Work Expense
That’s right! While leaving the office for lunch is a great way to promote mental and physical health, it also represents a great opportunity to network with clients or socialize with colleagues, which means you’ll be able to write that delicious lunch off your taxes as a business expense – making for both a healthy bottom line and a happy waistline.

So, just like our mouth-watering chicken Caesar-stuffed tortillas, that’s a wrap on the Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Leave the Office for Lunch.

Now there’s really no excuse not to ditch the desk, stretch those legs, and treat your body and mind to the lunch break they deserve.