Sitting vs. Standing vs. Moving: Why Your Job Could Be Slowly Killing You!

Replies

• 

  Kaustubh Katdare

  Adding the infographic directly in the post -
  
  
  
  Image Credit: www.juststand.org
• 

  Kaustubh Katdare

  Suddenly, I'm beginning to hate what I'm doing. 😔 Gotta be taking breaks.
  
  I wonder if gymming for 1 hour in the morning or evening; and then continuing with the regular work schedule is enough. Or should I be taking 5 minute breaks every 20 minutes? Will that be better?
• 

  Ramani Aswath

  Let us not knock the gymming. Those are the main meals. The five mins are good snacks.
  I am told that the Five - Twenty option is good.
• 

  Ankita Katdare

  The scariest part of the entire infographic is this -
  
  

  It's called sitting disease. Daily exercise is not enough to counteract excessive sitting.

  For the solution provided at the end of the image, I think this is the only option for most of us -
  
  
  
  Image courtesy - Wired.com
• 

  Ankita Katdare

  Renamed the title of this thread because I believe a lot needs to be discussed on the topic and that title should attract more readers & attention to this issue.
  
  A lot of my friends are discussing how a dentist friend feels healthier than rest of the IT engineers because she works by standing all day and the others sit on their revolving chairs for prolonged hours.
  
  There are tons of articles floating around talking of how sitting is killing you and how standing and some movement can lessen health risks.
  
  Movement is THE most important thing. Regular exercise is SUPER Important.
  However, do you guys think that 'STANDING' is better than 'SITTING'?
  Don't they both mean no action i.e. being stationary? Or do standing really affects us differently than sitting?
  
  Do share your opinions and point me to links worth reading.
• 

  Ramani Aswath

  Quote:Studies have claimed major health benefits for standing for much of the day as opposed to sitting. The difference is marked, explains Michael Mosley. Endquote
  Calorie burner: How much better is standing up than sitting? - BBC News
  
  Quote: There was a time when standing desks were a curiosity—used by eccentrics like Hemingway, Dickens and Kierkegaard, but seldom seen inside a regular office setting. That's changed, in large part due to research showing that the cumulative impact of sitting all day for years is associated with a range of health problems, from obesity to diabetes to cancer. Because the average office worker spends 5 hours and 41 minutes sitting each day at his or her desk, some describe the problem with a pithy new phrase that's undeniably catchy, if somewhat exaggerated: "Sitting is the new smoking." Endquote
  Five Health Benefits of Standing Desks | Science| Smithsonian Magazine
  
  This one from Cornell gives the other side of the story and suggests a solution:
  CUergo: Sitting and Standing
  
  This from Boston Globe is interesting:
  Quote: If too much sitting is the modern health equivalent of smoking and more people are spending longer hours sitting in front of their office computers, are standing desks the solution to rising rates of diabetes, heart disease, and obesity? Or does simply replacing sitting all day with standing all day miss the mark? Endquote
  Sitting at work is bad, but is standing actually better? - The Boston Globe
• 

  Ankita Katdare

  I guess too much of 'anything' is bad. Thanks for that amazing article in the end.
  I love and agree this bit:
  
  In a June study, 28 office workers who were given a sit/stand desk for a month reduced their time spent in a sedentary position by 38 minutes a day compared to when they used a traditional desk. They also reported a mood boost, increased energy, and reduced fatigue.
  
  “I think it’s correct to say we’re in the middle of a ‘stand up movement,’ but the emphasis needs to be on movement,” said the study author Dr. James Levine, director of the Mayo Clinic/Arizona State University Obesity Solutions Initiative.
• 

  Ankita Katdare

  I found an informative video (for those who are too lazy to go through entire infographics or paragraphs)
  
  Why sitting is bad for you:
  
• 

  Kaustubh Katdare

  My official take on this discussion:
  
  
• 

  Deadman

  Mine is a moving job and sometimes we have to work beyond our comfort zone like high temperature, dust and all. Very few desk work is involved.
  I feel physically and mentally drained at the end of the day. Need 8 hr sleep at least. Many people will barely understand this situation without facing it.
  If you sit properly and do a bit of workout daily YOUR JOB WONT KILL YOU.
• 

  Ramani Aswath

  Deadman

  I feel physically and mentally drained at the end of the day.

  Been there. Done that. With one difference. Physical tiredness, yes. Mental, no. What you are at is really better than the desk job. However, dust can create health issues. Better take care.