How can we increase our "natural" movement throughout the day?
There’s been a lot of bad press about sitting in the media lately, with campaigns like “sitting is the new smoking” and “sitting kills”. I get asked on a daily basis questions like: “Which chair is the best?” or “will a standing desk be better?” or “what if I sit on a fitball instead?” and sometimes I feel like our society is kind of missing the point.
I personally don’t think sitting itself is evil. Sitting for some can be when the work gets done or the best ideas come (I’m sitting right now as I write this – but not in a chair). Sitting can be a great way to quiet the mind or relax a body that has been working hard. The problems don’t stem from sitting itself, it is the excessive time we are spending in the same position that is rapidly deteriorating our health. This is going to take a couple blog posts to tackle, but I would like to take you through my two big issues with sitting and suggest some simple alternatives that could make a drastic difference to your body.
1. Sitting itself is not the problem, it is the lack of movement:
We all know by now that being sedentary (not moving) is linked with chronic disease. Lack of movement is wreaking havoc in our society, with 80% of modern society experiencing chronic pain in their lifetime and the top three things that will kill us are all possibly preventable. Sitting has become a large part of our modern world and our daily lives, and it’s something that needs to change if we want our health to change.
Think about what the human body is designed to do. Our genome is pretty much the same as that of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Evolution, unfortunately, has not caught up with the agricultural/industrial/technological revolutions, and so our bodies are living in a different world then they were programmed for. Imagine for a minute the daily life and requirements of a hunter-gatherer…A LOT of moving, walking, foraging, hunting, gathering, collecting, cooking, etc. They obviously would rest when they could, but the rest would be taken in many more natural positions then sitting on a couch/chair.
Now fast forward to the 21st century, with cars, computers, internet, and many other technologies that makes our life easier but are removing fundamental human movements from our lives. Many of us are required to sit in front of a computer for the majority of a workday, as that is what brings in the income required to survive. We then drive in a car or take public transport to work, eat our meals at the dinner table, and relax on the couch. Sometimes we hit the gym for an hour on the way home, and even though this is beneficial to our bodies, we need to recognize that exercising for an hour does not undo the damage done by sitting for the majority of the day.
I am not trying to tell you that you need to live in a cave, start hunting for your food and throw all of your modern technology in the garbage (although these things would help). I will argue, however, that to live healthier and happier in our bodies we need to increase the amount of movement in our daily lives.
I personally don’t think sitting itself is evil. Sitting for some can be when the work gets done or the best ideas come (I’m sitting right now as I write this – but not in a chair). Sitting can be a great way to quiet the mind or relax a body that has been working hard. The problems don’t stem from sitting itself, it is the excessive time we are spending in the same position that is rapidly deteriorating our health. This is going to take a couple blog posts to tackle, but I would like to take you through my two big issues with sitting and suggest some simple alternatives that could make a drastic difference to your body.
1. Sitting itself is not the problem, it is the lack of movement:
We all know by now that being sedentary (not moving) is linked with chronic disease. Lack of movement is wreaking havoc in our society, with 80% of modern society experiencing chronic pain in their lifetime and the top three things that will kill us are all possibly preventable. Sitting has become a large part of our modern world and our daily lives, and it’s something that needs to change if we want our health to change.
Think about what the human body is designed to do. Our genome is pretty much the same as that of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Evolution, unfortunately, has not caught up with the agricultural/industrial/technological revolutions, and so our bodies are living in a different world then they were programmed for. Imagine for a minute the daily life and requirements of a hunter-gatherer…A LOT of moving, walking, foraging, hunting, gathering, collecting, cooking, etc. They obviously would rest when they could, but the rest would be taken in many more natural positions then sitting on a couch/chair.
Now fast forward to the 21st century, with cars, computers, internet, and many other technologies that makes our life easier but are removing fundamental human movements from our lives. Many of us are required to sit in front of a computer for the majority of a workday, as that is what brings in the income required to survive. We then drive in a car or take public transport to work, eat our meals at the dinner table, and relax on the couch. Sometimes we hit the gym for an hour on the way home, and even though this is beneficial to our bodies, we need to recognize that exercising for an hour does not undo the damage done by sitting for the majority of the day.
I am not trying to tell you that you need to live in a cave, start hunting for your food and throw all of your modern technology in the garbage (although these things would help). I will argue, however, that to live healthier and happier in our bodies we need to increase the amount of movement in our daily lives.
- Find reasons to move all day long. Movement doesn’t have to be a workout or an exercise class. It can be getting the groceries, walking to places you would normally drive, doing things around the house, walking the dog, parking farther away, playing at the park with your kids…you get the idea. Our bodies are meant to move throughout the day and the more you can make it part of your daily life the better!
- If you are sitting for the majority of your workday, get up and move as often as you can. Set a timer or download an App that will help you remember to get out of your chair. Check out the “Time out free” App (shown below) that you can program to shut down your screen at regular intervals to remind yourself to take a break, or there are others that even suggest different stretches/movements to do while you break. Drink lots of water so you need lots of toilet breaks, do walking lunges all the way to the restroom and stretch it out while washing your hands. Who cares what people think, this is your health we’re talking about!
- Movement can be moving from one position to another. Fidgeting is natural movement. For this reason some people find options like sitting on a harder chair or standing good because it forces you to make small movements to get comfortable. Remember that really comfortable chairs may feel great, but they stop your body from moving completely and eliminate even the small fidgeting movements your body would normally do. I would suggest setting up a workstation that offers a variety of positions to move between, and of course listening to your body (so if you need a softer/more supportive chair for your back then make sure you have one)!
- Check out the following site for a great review of different workstations if you’re in the market for one (more about desk options in Part 2):
- Use your lunchbreaks effectively, schedule walking meetings where possible and use any opportunity to get your work done while moving. You may have like-minded clients that would prefer to meet/brainstorm while walking, or if you’re tech-savy get into voice recording programs that can make lists or reports while you move.
I would love to hear how you have made movement part of your day. As a mum of a toddler this is pretty easy for me, and I understand it can be much more difficult when your income is based on working in front of a computer. Just remember that if you are used to sitting for 8 hours in a row, even adding 15 extra minutes of movement will make a big difference…every little bit of movement counts towards a happier and healthier body!!
Stay tuned for SITTING Part 2: Chairs and how to get rid of them
Stay tuned for SITTING Part 2: Chairs and how to get rid of them
