Reasons to use a standing desk
My coworkers know I recently started using a standing desk (if you can call it that…its a big box stacked on reams of paper on top of my new desk). I did it because I head on a whim that it’s good for you and helps you stay more alert. I figured I’d give it a try and I like it! However, since people ask all the time, I did a little research to see what the actual health risks of sitting are.
Effects of sitting include:
- 64% more likely to die from heart disease
- Electrical activity in leg muscles shut off immediately
- Enzymes that help break down fat drop 90% immediately
- Good cholesterol drops 20% after 2 hours
- Insulin effectiveness drops 24% and risk of diabetes rises
- Your metabolism goes into rest when you are sitting
- Could cause muscle stiffness, poor balance and mobility, lower back and neck pain
- Could cause blood clotting, resulting in heart attacks
- Reduced bone density
- Shortening of the leg muscles
- Poor posture
- Weakened glutes and tight hip flexors cause your pelvis to tilt forward, putting stress on lumbar spine, resulting in lower-back pain and giving you a protruding gut
Facts/Figures
- Each extra hour of watching TV is 11% higher death risk
- Those with sitting jobs have twice the rate of cardiovascular disease as people with standing jobs
- Sitting can negate exercise benefits. Those who exercise and also sit for 3 hrs a day in front of the TV/in office are just as fat as those who dont. Wonder what 8 hrs/day will do?
- Between 1980 and 2000, exercise rates stayed the same, sitting time increased 8%, obesity doubled
- Obese people sit 2.5 hours more per day than thin people
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