Being a Software Developer is Unhealthy

I wanted to talk about physical health this week. For those of you who are already developers this is most likely preaching to the choir.

Think for a moment about the stereotypical gaming nerd in his or or 30s or 40s. Do you imagine them fit and healthy? Or do you imagine them locked in a basement staring at their computer screen with empty Mt. Dew bottles around them as they brush off dorito crumbs?

Now ask yourself this, in terms of physical health, what makes that over-weight nerdy gamer different from a software developer? Do we both not sit at a computer for hours on end? Does your body care if your writing JavaScript or playing WoW?

Its true to some extent that complex thinking does take more physical energy and thus burns more calories, but not to a noticeable amount over gaming.

We as software developers need to stay at least somewhat healthy, and there are a couple legitimate reasons.

First off, think of your physical energy. When you just finished pushing code into production and that widget you were so proud of breaks 20 minutes after you leave for the day, will you have the physical energy to walk back in, or log on at home to fix it? Do you physically have another 2-4 hours of work left in you?
Some people barely manage making through an 8 hour shift, let alone 10 or more.
When we exercise and build up our muscles and cardiovascular systems our body is retraining itself, getting stronger, and increasing stamina. It knows that your going to work it out another hour or more after work, and your physiology will allow it if you do it regularly enough. So when that widget breaks, you know that extra 2-4 hours will be a cake walk....at least as far as physical energy goes.

So another reason we need to stay healthy is mental alertness. You can physically put in another 2-4 hours, but is your brain tired and mushy? I'll write another blog sometime on exercising your brain, but for the sake of physical energy, know that your brain can take up to 20 percent of your total energy. While reaching 20% might be hard, I would venture to guess that software development, a field that problem solves, researches, and learns most of the day probably comes closer to that 20% regularly over other fields.
If you've already used up 15-20 percent of your energy from thinking all day, how do you think your next few hours will go? Problem solving that widget that broke just became a little more taxing.

There are many reasons to be healthy, those are just a couple. There are also many ways to be healthy. Everyone thinks running, walking, or going to the gym is the only way to stay healthy. Would you like to know my cardio routine? I bought my fiance an elliptical a couple of years ago. I put my elliptical in front of my TV, and play Rocket League with friends on PS4. When I need to do strength training, I put my total gym in front of the TV and watch something (most recently it's been a lot of Game of Thrones). My fiance and I are getting married next month and have been taking dance lessons. In the last 2 days we have probably danced a total of 4-5 hours together.....I can't remember the last time my abs were this sore!

Exercising doesn't have to be the horrible grind many people make it. I'm motivated to do it regardless of if I have TV or video games, but having those tools actually makes me look forward to it. Even as I finish this post I am just thinking about how I want to split up my exercise time tonight, and how fun video games sound while I exercise.

Reward yourself with better health. No one can do it for you, it has to be your choice. As a software developer, it's a pretty important one.

Just in case you need to catch up on your Game of Thrones......