StandingWorkstation

Really think about it.  You wake up, during your morning routine you…. probably SIT to eat breakfast, SIT in the car on the way to work, SIT at work, SIT when you eat lunch, go to Spin class – SIT, drive home- SIT, Eat dinner while sitting, catch up on a tv show or two while sitting. Way too much sitting. Why not change what you can- and try to stand at work.

I have a job that in the ‘Working Conditions’ section of my employee description, it states, “While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit [and] computer aided drafting and other tasks may require sitting at a computer for several hours.” This is a very true statement, because for four years, I would do all of the above activities while sitting, but because I was so active with lunch-time workouts and CrossFit, I didn’t consider myself unhealthy or out of shape. Then I read an article on Runner’s World and learned that I am what you would call an “active couch potato.” What! No way! Lies…. Well maybe they were right.

I starting thinking about how often I sat, and I was sitting for about 10-12 hours a day! This is crazy to think about. So I changed the one thing I knew I could— I contacted my HR department and requested a meeting with an ergonomics person and got measured for a standing desk. And ta-daaaaa I am now sitting for maybe 5 hours a day and loving it. I do have a high-rise chair so that I can sit if I need to or want to, but try to only use the chair for a few hours a day to at least give my feet a break. I absolutely love it and people are catching on. Desks are being lifted almost every week at my workplace and people are realizing that sitting for such long periods of time, no matter how active you are, is unhealthy.

If you have an office job like me, try to see if raising your desk is an option. Your hip-flexors, core, and posture will improve, and you will thank me.

 

A quick excerpt from Runner’s World that struck a chord with me:

“A 2013 survey of nearly 30,000 women found that those who sat nine or more hours a day were more likely to be depressed than those who sat fewer than six hours a day because prolonged sitting reduces circulation, causing fewer feel-good hormones to reach your brain.”