Sitting And The Corporate Athlete
March 8, 2018
By: Dr. Jeff Rosenberg
The average American now sits for over nine hours a day, surprisingly even more than they sleep. That may not seem bad when you consider a lot of that time is spent behind a desk working hard, but in reality keeping your body in the seated position for hours is incredibly unhealthy. Even if you are incredibly active during the time you are not sitting behind a desk or a couch, you cannot undo the damage done by sitting.
You've probably heard the catchphrase at some point in your life, whether on the news or at your doctors office, but "sitting is the new smoking". It may be catchy to say, but ironically it's actually well proven to be true. Study after study has revealed that sitting for extended periods of time on a regular basis is worse than smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.
A rise in seated careers is highly correlated with the rise in obesity and metabolic syndrome, two conditions killing millions of adults in the US every year. Between 1980 and 2000, exercise rates in the US remained the same, but sitting increased by 8%. Obesity rates in the same period doubled. This pattern is only continuing today. Even when all other lifestyle factors stay the same and even if you are otherwise exercising regularly and eating healthy, you are more likely to become obese the more you sit every day.
Sitting makes you more than twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease and cancer. Sitting causes physiological changes to the body, making inflammation buildup and blood glucose spike levels remain higher than normal. Also, the wear on your back from sitting, even sitting ergonomically, is hard on your spine which will lead to pain, spasms, and scar tissue buildup. Sitting isn't just dangerous for your body either. Sitting for extended periods of time is bad for your mental health. Prolong sitting without breaks for physical activity increases your risk for depression and psychological distress. In addition, sitting can make your brain foggy and less focused. The more time you spend sitting, the less time you are able to perform intellectual tasks at your peak.
Here are 3 simple ways to minimize the impact of sitting at work
1. Try alternative chair options. One of the best alternative chairs is a kneeling chair. The kneeling chair allows you to keep your thighs at an angle of about 60° to 70° from vertical as opposed to their traditional 90° when sitting at a normal chair. A kneeling chair is good for your posture since it actively keeps the spine in alignment.
2. Try a Standing desk to eliminate the need to sit at all-or at least make it a much less common activity throughout your day. You'll burn more calories, too. Even if you aren't moving at all, standing rather than sitting burns an extra 50 calories an hour. Some people maximize their standing desk by hooking up a treadmill to it.
3. Another easy way to minimize sitting is to encourage your team to walk together. Rather than scheduling a meeting in the conference room go outside and walk while you talk. You may find that the new atmosphere triggers more creative ideas and better motivation. According to a study at Stanford, moving meetings can be more productive and encourage higher levels of creative thinking.
4. Get up and walk at least five minutes every hour. This re-engages your muscles and helps to minimize the damage caused by sitting.
With your high pressure corporate job, it's inevitable that you'll need to sit. However, with these 4 simple tips, you can assure that you'll be able to minimize future damage.