There's a direct relationship between time spent sitting and your risk of early death. Even if you exercise regularly, the longer you sit during a day, the higher your risk for early death.
Prolonged sitting can be harmful to your health because of the lack of muscle contractions and subsequent body movement.
Excess sitting has also been linked to causing up to 43,000 cases of colon cancer and 49,000 cases of breast cancer according to Forbes.
Read on for tips to help you combat the effects of sitting all day, including information on a wobble stool.
Effects of Sitting
These days, people have an almost completely sedentary lifestyle. We sit while we drive, while we work, while we eat, while we watch TV or play games.
If the average person gets eight hours of sleep, then there are only three hours a day where we can be standing or moving.
Sitting still affects us from our heads to our toes. Movement triggers the muscles to pump fresh blood and oxygen through the brain. When we sit for long periods, everything slows down, including brain function.
The soft discs between our vertebrae grow and shrink like sponges as we move. These discs soak up fresh blood and nutrients. When we sit, these discs become flattened and calcified which leads to an inflexible spine.
Headaches, joint pain, bad circulation in the legs, tight hips, soft bones, and chronic illness have been linked to excessive sitting.
There are several things we can do to fight the sitting lifestyle we are part of. First, is to take walking breaks every hour when you are at your desk. This allows you to clear your mind, stretch your muscles and get the blood flowing in your limbs.
You can get creative and reduce the number of hours you sit for work. For example, walking meeting and brainstorming sessions can improve both productivity and longevity.
Improve Your Lifestyle
There are several things you can do to combat sitting still for long periods of time.
Set a timer to remind you to get up and walk around at set intervals throughout the day. Take time to stretch throughout the day, even while seated. Check out these 9 stretches to do at your desk.
If you have to sit for work, don't use your remaining hours to do more sitting. Go for walks instead of watching TV, climb the stairs instead of taking the elevator. Park at the edge of the parking lot and walk to and from the grocery store.
Perform regular exercise and stretches. If possible, ride your bike or walk to work.
If you take public transit, stand instead of sitting in a chair. You can also pace the aisles if there is room.
Having an ergonomic keyboard tray is also vital.
Active Sitting
For those hours when we must sit, consider active or dynamic sitting.
Seats such as a wobble stool, balance chair or perching stool are seats that encourage us to stay in motion. Instead of passively sitting, these seats make us move, bend, and keep our core engaged.
The wobble stool tilts and moves in response to your body's movement. This helps you stay active & productive wherever you need to sit. The wobble stool engages your leg, hip, and core muscles.
You can move and tilt as far as you like, the wobble stool is stable and able to turn a full 360 degrees.
Active Sitting for Improved Focus
Besides the health benefits, active sitting also helps students focus.
A 2008 research study found that children need to move while conducting a complicated mental task. That is why children are often restless when reading or doing math but not when watching TV.
Active seating is fidget-friendly for children with ADHD or who tend to have excess energy.
Active seating recognizes a child's need to move. Yet it enables them to sit without disrupting the teacher during a lesson or other students.
Traditional forward-facing school chairs are rigid and unmoving. As a result, students can feel trapped, anxious, or unfocused. This results in poor attention decreased comprehension and lower scores.
Teachers often have to provide extra resources and time to keep fidgety students engaged, on topic and still in classrooms.
With a balance chair or other active sitting piece of furniture, the classroom is much more enjoyable for all concerned.
Advantages of the Wobble Stool
Standing desks or treadmill desks can be expensive and not allowed in your office environment. They also can take up much more room.
A wobble stool is affordable and fits easily in the same space as a small office chair.
Using an exercise ball as a chair has often been recommended as a method of active seating. However, Human Resources may take issue with this solution for several reasons.
First of all, the user could slip off the ball and become injured. Also, because the ball is round, it could roll away while you are not at your desk and block a fire exit, doorway or trip someone else.
Another concern is that a fitness ball is not discrete. It stands out in an office environment and may not be suitable for your workplace.
A wobble stool, on the other hand, is stable, stays put and discreetly blends into your office furniture.
It's not just for work either. The wobble stool can also be used at home as a bar stool at the dinner table, or for using your computer, gaming or watching TV.
Making Your Workstation More Ergonomic
We hope this post has helped you to see how serious a sedentary lifestyle is to your health and wellbeing, and how a wobble stool can help.
Hopefully, these suggestions will empower you to make the changes you need in order to live your best life.
At UnCaged Economics, we believe ergonomic products should be affordable, useful and effective. With our easy returns and free shipping over $39, we help you make your desk more comfortable and stress-free.
Next, read how to make your workstation more ergonomic.