Life, Death, and Sitting

Dying sucks. If you asked anyone on the street they would probably agree. Most individuals find the prospect of not being alive anymore to be a rather unsavory notion which is why most have taken a stand against things such as smoking, lead paints, and sitting which has become the new smoking as many have heard by now.

Like smoking, sitting increases the risk of dying early. It sounds a little dramatic but studies have shown that sitting too much and too often can increase the risk of dying prematurely. A recently published study from the American Journal of Preventive Medicine used survey data from over 50 countries, studying the relationship between time spent sitting, population size, and death. What they found was that 60 percent of those surveyed spend more than three hours a day sitting with the average being over 4 hours. By cutting that time in half, they calculate that the result would be a 2.3 percent decline in all-cause mortality.

This begs the question, “How do I cut down on my sitting time?” The good news is that there is a whole world out there full of ways to do exactly that. The most obvious solution is a standing desk. There have been some articles lately saying that standing is not much better than sitting. They are correct that standing all day has its own set of cons but the sit-stand movement has never been about eliminating sitting completely. The idea is to break up long periods of sitting with movement such as what is provided with a treadmill desk or you can simply change your position for a while which is exactly what the UPLIFT 900 was designed for. You get the best of both worlds. You can stand when you’re sick of sitting or sit when you just can’t stand standing any longer. There are also nifty gadgets like the upcoming UPLIFT Desk Converter which transforms your already existing workspace into a sit-stand workspace. It’s perfect for those offices that are really attached to their old furniture.

So when you feel your day to day sitting gauntlet taking its toll, remember to give yourself a break. Stand up for a little bit or go on a walk and if you ever want to upgrade your workspace to make doing those things even easier feel free to contact us here at Human Solution. We’re always happy to help!