What’s your typical workday like? For a lot of us, it involves sitting for 8 or 9 hours at work — and then sitting in a car to drive home and sit in front of a TV or laptop for another few hours.
Researchers have found clear evidence that this is really not good for us.
Some of the health effects associated with prolonged sitting:
- heart disease
- diabetes
- obesity
- cancer
- depression
- muscle and joint problems
We’ve known this for some years now, but it’s been hard to say what we should do with that information. Standing desks are useful if they’re available, but sometimes they’re not an option.
New research has determined that 2-4 hours of standing are what we need. Stand up for two hours at work, they say, and then add another couple of hours outside of work time. The easy way: take a break every 20 minutes and stand up.
Add movement to your workday by standing and walking while on the phone, walking to a colleague’s desk instead of emailing or messaging, and taking a stand-and-stretch break along with every coffee break.
The infographic below, courtesy of Stand Desk, shares some of the key steps for office health.
