It’s time to get off our bottoms – literally!
Could reading this column be damaging your health? Sounds hard to believe, but if you are sitting down to read the whole newspaper, regularly spend eight hours or more sitting at your desk and a few more on your sofa, it could.
Anyone with a desk-bound job has probably complained about neck or back pain at some stage. Unfortunately, new research paints an even bleaker picture of the health risks of sitting for prolonged periods of time.
Scientific evidence
Who would have thought that one day there would be scientific evidence to prompt reputable health organisations like the National Heart Foundation of Australia to issue warnings about the simple act of resting your body on your buttocks? It sounds like a joke, but after having been raised to sit still and keep quiet, we are now urged to get up and shake a leg as often as we can.
Sitting for prolonged periods of time is associated with an increased risk of poor heart health, high blood sugar and even some cancers. Apart from these serious health conditions, sitting may also cause musculoskeletal disorders if poor working postures are adopted.
If you are one of the admirable citizens who go straight to the gym after work, jog early in the morning or swim a few hundred meters each week, you may feel that this does not apply to you. Sadly, although regular exercise is beneficial, research suggests that it does not protect us against the health risks associated with long periods of continuous sitting. This is why some health experts call sitting “the new smoking”.
Health scare
Entrepreneurs are already capitalising on the latest health scare by offering so-called standing desks to concerned employers and home office workers who are keen to adjust work stations to help reduce the periods of time spent in sitting, sedentary position every day. Unfortunately, even though standing workstations can provide some relief, prolonged standing is also problematic, as it can lead to swollen, sore feet and poor circulation in the lower limbs, which may result in varicose veins and ultimately… cardiovascular disease.
Adjustable desk
Engineers came to the rescue and designed “sit-stand” desks or “deskalators”, which are height adjustable and allow workers to vary their posture throughout the day. For most, the expense of purchasing a fully adjustable desk or an adjustable desktop which gets placed on top of their current desk makes this option unattractive or simply unattainable.
However, a cheaper, common sense approach to this problem is to do what our bodies are designed to do: move frequently throughout the day! Of course in this complex 21st century world, time is money and not all employers support a break or two every hour.
Health experts thus ask us to re-think what work looks like and support each other in getting off our butts more often. We do not necessarily have to be seated to accomplish our daily tasks. Sometimes walking to another desk or floor in the building to deliver a message in person instead of composing a detailed email may even save time.
Who says that all meetings must take place in a conference room or office? Especially for small groups, conducting a walking meeting may be a feasible. Many telephone calls can be taken while standing up to stretch and twist.
Some people make a habit of pacing whenever they use their mobile phone to check emails or messages. Some business tycoons even claim that some of their most productive negotiations take place during gym sessions.
Whatever we can do to reduce the consecutive hours we spend sitting, we should – no matter how inviting the sofa looks after a long day at work. Our bodies will thank us for making the right decisions and motivating each other to keep moving.
