You may want to sit down to hear this- on second thoughts, don’t. Never before in history have humans been as sedentary as we are this very moment. We may have thrown away the fags in the interests of our health but now it’s time to go one step further: toss the chair. At least now and again. No butts about it: evidence shows that in terms of our wellbeing, sitting is the new smoking. ![]() Is there a solution? How else are we supposed to do all our butt-glued-on–chair activities? From all-day desk jobs to tv viewing, internet browsing and car travel, sedentary is the order of the day. However, to avoid the impacts of cardio-vascular disease and diabetes, to name a few perils, you can’t afford to take this news sitting down. Arise, oh chair-bound one. The time of your ascension is nigh. And it’s not nearly as bad as it sounds, as I’ve discovered. ![]() Da-daa: I'm currently trialing the standing desk and it's turned my life around... err, body around. Instead of feeling blobby and craving exercise I'm feeling taut and toned, without going anywhere. And getting lots of work done in the meantime. Hooray! What’s so bad about sitting and what’s so good about standing? Prolonged sitting inhibits essential enzymes from processing fats and sugars, leading to undesirable health outcomes (such as heart disorders and diabetes). Standing burns calories and processes blood fats. It boosts wakefulness and over-rides the afternoon energy slump. (see table at bottom of page for detail) Just how many calories is that? A third more than sitting. Which can mean up to 50 calories an hour. Be upright 3 hours a day for 5 days and burn 750 calories. Over a year, that’s 30,000 calories, equal to running about ten marathons. ![]() How much standing have I gotta do? Sitting for uninterrupted prolonged periods is the culprit. The Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines recommend we minimise the duration of our sitting and break up long sitting sessions. We don't have to stand the whole damn day. Just bits. ![]() What if I exercise regularly, outside sitting hours? Sorry, doesn’t help. To add insult to injury, those of us who exercise an hour a day and sit for eight are dubbed “active couch potatoes”. Thanks. Be upstanding for the cool way out! The Star of the Show: The Standing Desk. My standing desk didn’t cost a fortune. Actually, it didn't cost a thing: I found it lying around the house. Like me, it should have been doing a lot more standing and like me, it’s been a while since it’s had a workout. Can you guess? It’s an ironing board! Take that, you fats and sugars! ![]() The great thing about the ironing-board-cum-standing-desk is the ease of height adjustment. Tick for height and tick for length: being long, it’s perfect for spreading out your stuff. Now for a healthy gadget to accompany your brave new standing desk: ![]() The External Keyboard Tip If you sometimes feel your body is soaking up the electromagnetic rays of the laptop, get yourself an external keyboard and place it off to the side of the laptop (not in front). This geographical arrangement of screen and keyboard fits perfectly on the ironing board standing desk. Laptop up one end, you and the keyboard down the other. Body upright and standing. Fats and sugars gracefully falling away. What sort of user are you? Of course if you're mainly an ipod, tablet or phone user, you've not got the problem of a big hummy mummy pumping invisible rays at your chest. But be smart and rise to the occasion: ditch that chair or couch from time to time. last word How does this startling information sit with you? Are you standing up yet? Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear from you, please leave a brief comment and/or hit the tweet/facebook icon to the bottom left. Thank you!
RESOURCES
Sitting is the new smoking by Sarah Berry http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/sitting-is-the-new-smoking-20130529-2nca0.html Why the exercise guidelines take a stand on sitting http://www.abc.net.au/health/features/stories/2014/02/24/3947295.htm The Benefits of a Standing Desk http://ergonomics.about.com/od/office/a/Benefits-of-a-Standing-Desk.htm Calorie burner: How much better is standing up than sitting? http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24532996
12 Comments
Lisa Adams
30/4/2014 03:47:32 am
Well I'll be jiggered. Or should I say jiggly? 10 marathons!! Active couch potato!! Well this is news to me. I imagine we would be using our core strength more to be standing up? This could be a revolution in office furniture. Imagine a department of 50 people all neat in a row with their ironing boards! I like it!
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30/4/2014 04:33:48 am
Indeed Lisa, it's all about strengthening the core. And with all those marathons in mind, you get to feel virtuous simply by standing up! I And no-one can call you an active couch potato anymore; instead we'll be active iron-board apples.Thanks for commenting. love Shakti
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30/4/2014 04:57:27 am
Standing up? too easy! Great , fresh ideas again- thanks Shakti xxx
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Rod Conroy
5/5/2014 03:26:29 am
Here I am standing as I write this and I notice the difference already; more alert? yes, I think I am.
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shakti
5/5/2014 03:50:39 am
Me too!
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Helen McWilliam
6/5/2014 01:01:34 am
Hello Shakti
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shakti
6/5/2014 03:41:17 am
I adore standing up! feels great. I use a dish drainer to raise the laptop to a good height. Might be worth a try. love Shakti
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Joe Landers
11/5/2014 01:41:48 pm
Read your article standing , but I'm at my sister's and can't find the ironing board. The kitchen bench is working very well though as I have to have my feet far apart to get the right height which has got me doing warrior poses (variation) as I read and type. I have noticed posters in the tube stations saying "standing is the new smoking". Thanks Shakti
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Shakti
13/5/2014 02:24:19 am
Great to hear from you Joe from Afar!! Just make sure you don't end up doing the splits. Will be counterproductive. Great info about the posters at Tube Stations! (i'm sure you meant 'sitting'; all that standing is going to your head!)
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shakti
22/8/2014 05:41:22 am
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-15004/sitting-all-day-is-really-really-bad-for-you-infographic.html
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24/7/2020 09:07:15 am
Instead of running around all day hunting for food and protecting our families from danger, many of us get to sit at a desk to earn our living. But according to a recent study, sitting for long periods of time can raise the risk of obesity and heart attack. While regular exercise is also essential, just the simple act of taking a break from sitting in a chair may help improve your health. ake hourly breaks to stand and stretch during long classes; include more small-group activities that require moving to switch desks; and create more open classrooms with space to walk without squeezing past fellow students and room to install standing desk areas. visit https://caminteriors.com.au/
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