What is Sitting Disease?

Sitting Disease is just an idiom doctors use to symbolize the ill effects of leading a sedentary life. Humans are designed to move a good portion of the day. Studies show that extended periods of inactivity drastically increases your risk of contracting serious medical conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and more.

what can you do?

While your daily routine provides numerous opportunities to remain stationary, it is important to get up and move; a body in motion stays in motion. One of the easiest ways to incorporate more movement into your daily routine is to work standing up for at least 10 minutes every hour. In addition to standing while working, there are a number of things you can do to incorporate more activity into your daily routine, including:

• Stretch – take time to stretch at your desk or even do a few light exercises.
• Walk – walk during your 15-minute breaks, during your lunch, start a walking club with, or even schedule walking meetings.
• Avoid email when possible – It’s obviously not realistic to handle all business face-to-face, but take time everyday to drop by a co-worker’s desk to personally deliver a message or ask a question.
• Revise your commute – if you take a car, opt for public transit a few days each week. If the weather is nice, get off a stop or two early so you can walk the rest of the way to work.
• Turn off the TV – seriously, how much TV do you need anyway? Instead of flopping on the couch to watch another reality show, take a brisk walk outside or put an exercise video on. If you must watch TV, try riding a stationary bike or walking on a treadmill during your favorite programs.

Leading a sedentary lifestyle is dangerous to your health and a surefire way to increase your risk of facing serious medical complications as you age. In addition to eating healthy and exercising regularly, standing at work can make a huge difference in your daily activity level. Using a dynamic workstation, you can seamlessly switch between a seated and standing posture during your workday. Visit our online catalog to find the dynamic workstation that is right for you so you can begin incorporating the practice of standing while working into your daily routine.

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Wellness programs have become a popular solution for employers looking to avoid high medical coverage and keep workers in business. Instead of offering a gym membership or sending encouraging memos, employers are now making even greater efforts toward disease prevention.

Gift cards and other incentives are given to employees who agree to get a physical assessment and make plans to improve the state of their current health. Some companies offer rewards for employees who set and meet specific goals, like improving their blood pressure by so many points.

Health and wellness programs started to receive occasional backlash from employees who felt an invasion of privacy, or from employees who were penalized for not participating. To resolve the issue, companies hired outside businesses to create personal surveys or run the wellness program to ensure privacy protection.

The outside company provides a general overview of the entire office’s health status, like a third of employees have high blood pressure. Personal details of individuals are not shared thus avoiding privacy concerns.

According to the Wall Street Journal, today almost 90 percent of employers offer wellness incentives. Beyond encouraging better health practices outside of the office, employers are changing the way offices function. Instead of vending machines with unhealthy snacks and processed food, employers are bringing in healthier choices for employees. And food court meals are being replaced with nutritious options.

However, wellness programs and incentives may be without visible results unless companies change the way employees work during the day. Countless studies prove that a sedentary lifestyle is directly linked to heart disease, obesity and diabetes. The risk remains even if employees workout at the gym for an hour every day.

Companies have noticed the growing trends of sedentary behavior and how it affects employee wellness and even the number of sick days taken. Now employers are investing in alternative workstations like adjustable desks that encourage more movement and allow employees to refrain from sitting for long periods.

Along with the initial wellness programs, employers have found ways to keep employees moving while at work. One option is creating incentives for employees who stand for so many minutes every hour, or if an employee uses a treadmill adjustable desk, offering a reward once so many miles are completed.

Adjustable desks are an easy way to improve employee health to keep them at the office and help them stay active. According to several studies, the risk of disease is significantly reduced if a person makes small movements throughout the day. This includes switching from sitting to standing. It even has the power to extend your lifespan.

Does your company offer incentives and rewards if you make an effort to improve your health? How have you seen your workplace change once these programs are in place?

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The women completed surveys in 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2010 based on sitting time, physical activity and depressive symptoms. The results were studied in 2011 and published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

The researchers looked for an association between all three of the topics surveyed and found that women who sat for more than seven hours a day had a 47 percent higher risk of depression symptoms than women who sat for four hours or less a day.

The study went on to reveal that women who didn’t participate in any physical activity (such as prolonged sitting and no exercise) had a 99 percent higher risk of developing depression symptoms than the women in the study who exercised.

The amount of exercise was based on 30 minutes per day according to guidelines set by the Australian government. Women who sat for long periods of time and didn’t exercise were three times more likely to have depression symptoms than women who sat less and were more physically active.

The study couldn’t pinpoint an exact association of whether depression causes a person to sit more and exercise less, or if sitting too long makes a person depressed. However, the women who sat more were much more likely to feel depressed in the present, but prolonged sitting didn’t predict depression years later.

The researchers concluded that more physical activity could actually alleviate present depressive symptoms and possibly prevent future symptoms later in middle-aged women. And reducing the amount of sitting time daily could relieve current symptoms of depression.

With this information, it just gives even more reason to stand up! Stand, stretch, adjust your desk, and move around to stay mentally alert and upbeat. To learn more, you can read the abstract from the study, HERE.

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Sitting is a luxury for workers, why give up the comfy leather chair or the ability to take a load off? Your legs would be less tired and your feet would thank you for it.

But! Before you join the cause and defiantly remain in your chair, let’s take a moment to dissect the author’s argument.

He realizes a stationary work day is unhealthy, and goes on to argue that the solution is not to sit less, but to work less. It would be a dream to have more vacation time and a longer lunch break.

Unfortunately, most of us don’t have the luxury of working fewer hours, but thankfully the adjustable standing desk provides you with an alternative: flexibility.

As we mentioned, the standing desk encourages the freedom of movement. Try yoga behind your standing desk to keep the blood flowing and take a break. And if you’re able, take a quick stroll around the office to talk to your coworkers instead of relentlessly sending emails.

And as always, if your legs are begging for relief, adjust your desk to a lower position and relax in a chair. But don’t completely give up remaining active!

In another valid point from the author, he mentions that it is still possible to be chained to a standing desk.

If you’re unable to get away from your workstation, the standing desk provides plenty of features to keep up productivity and make your work space more comfortable.

It may seem like a minor detail, but let’s not forget about the cable management option located in the back. Pesky cables only contribute to the stacks of paper and clutter on your desk, but thankfully this feature keeps at least one thing out of the way and organized.

Your NextSpace ergonomic keyboard can be adjusted to the perfect setting for you, or pushed underneath your adjustable height desk when not in use. And, the digital LED display remembers the perfect standing height for you—talk about ease and comfort during transition.

Beyond the author’s argument, we can’t emphasize enough the health advantages from standing! Yes, there are certain pitfalls like tired legs and feet, but the long-term advantages greatly outweigh the negatives.

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