A Safer Way To Sit

I keep hearing people talk that they sit too much and that they know its bad for them. I know they are right but I wanted more details on exactly why it’s bad. So here are a few articles:

The health hazards of sitting (via The Washington Post)

The “Sitting Is Killing You” Infographic Shows Just How Bad Prolonged Sitting Is (via Lifehacker)

Most experts, including Cornell University, recommend that for every 20-30 minutes of sitting, you get up and walk or move around for two minutes. Getting up and moving is considered as effective as a costly (and often less work-efficient) standing desk and its free. Add in 30 minutes of brisk activity each day (which can be broken into 10 minute segments) and you might just live a longer, healthier life.

I’m going to try it by using the Pomodoro Method. I’ll work for 25 minutes and then walk around for five minutes. I also used to sit on a yoga ball and I have to say I’ve been missing the bounciness. I think I might reinflate it and try that again as well to help improve my posture too.

Do you worry about how much you sit? Are you using a standing desk or trying any techniques to walk, stand or move more? Any tips?

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7 comments / Add your comment below

  1. I teach online classes, and when I am grading, I am reluctant to get out of the chair and stop (just one more paper!). So I do worry about it. When I teach face to face classes, I always stand before the class or walk up and down or visit students at their desks. I encourage students to move around and show each other stuff. So while online classes may be vogue, I don’t think they are good health-wise, for either teacher or student. Thank you for posting these (even though the news is not good).

  2. I with Dave. I’m a sloth. Didn’t Churchill say,” Why Stand when you can sit.” Maybe I am dead but my brain didn’t tell me yet. ☺

  3. Thanks for this reminder. Also, I like your solution and I try to do something like it. I can’t imagine that standing at a desk all day is particularly good for you either.

  4. Ana,
    Thanks for posting this information. I would like to share a couple copies on real-world (as opposed to virtual-world) bulletin boards at work, but, so far, I have been unable to find a version that is formatted for any kind of reasonable printing on the office printers that I have readily available (for example, 11″ X 17″, landscape, with the panel broken up into three columns. I tried copying and pasting, but I seem to have lost the resolution needed to print clearly. Are you aware of a version that can be readily printed–or a place I can buy a poster version of this graphic?

    BTW, have fun at the Atlanta Pen Show. I wish I could be there.

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