Get Up and Move (Sitting is Killing You!)

Friday, October 11, 2013 7:54 PM by Taylor Studios in Other


My Health and the Health of the World

I’m taking a small diversion from the straightforward Green life in this post. For me, it all fits together, my health and the health of the world around me, but I can understand if you think that is a stretch.

Standing Desk created with found objects

My Standing Desk If you came to my desk, you might wonder why my chair looks like it belongs in a cafeteria, why it’s ten feet from my desk, and why my keyboard and monitor are so high. The only time I use the chair is when I am trying to think of what I will be writing in this blog. The rest of the day, I stand at my desk. I blame my strange behavior on Randy, one of our exhibit designers (originally shown in this post). He started standing at least three months before me, and when I saw that it didn’t negatively affect his sunny disposition, I decided to give it a try. Since I figured this was a trial, I didn’t want to spend any money on my setup, so it is a strange assemblage of blocks and boxes. I love going through the wood scraps at our production floor, so solid blocks of red oak and ash are in my stack.

Sitting is Killing You!

Why do I bother? Here’s one handy compilation of reasons, and here’s a nice opinion piece. Both touch upon how even though chairs do an excellent job of keeping your behind off the ground, your legs are even better at it. More importantly, when you sit for extended periods, your body’s metabolism goes into low gear. And we sit a lot. We sit during any driving we do, either as a commute or for our job, we sit most of the day if we have a desk-based job, and we sit while watching TV or at the computer at home. Once you get in a position in which your body doesn’t have to work to physically support its weight, your metabolism practically shuts down.

Slowly Change your Habits

What can you do? If you don’t want to stand all day (and I admit, it was quite a transition), at least make sure you move around every hour or so. Stand up, stretch, walk down the hall, go talk to the person in the office you were going to call. Try an alternative seat, maybe one without a back that won’t let you slouch. Some of my coworkers have tried yoga balls, which require your legs to be active to keep you in position. If you do want to stand for part of your day, there are much more professional/expensive options than my stack of whatever-I-could-find. I also use an anti-fatigue mat, which helps a lot. Since there are as many ways to make a standing desk as there are people, I have found all sorts of creative/inexpensive solutions online.

Standing Desk

A nice IKEA-hacked standing desk project Standing by itself isn’t a health breakthrough. My wife stands all day, but her job requires static positions and she wears very heavy protective gear. Factory and retail workers who stand often don’t have the mobility I enjoy. And I don’t stand all day. I walk around, pace, sway from side to side, or lean when I really need to think. The key is movement. That is where the health benefits lie. When I stand, it’s nothing to walk away from my computer. I look forward to it. When I sat, I had to build up momentum, cross a mental barrier, and haul myself out of my chair.

I admit, this is an office fad, but it’s one I will keep doing since I feel better because of it. If you sat while you read this, I’m done. Get up! Take a stroll. If you already have tried some of what I described, tell me how it has affected your well-being. And keep moving.

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