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If You Have To Sit For Long Periods of Time, Here's 5 Things You Should Know...

Posted by OfficeAnything on May 17th 2018

Sitting For Too Long Is Unhealthy
To put it plain and simple, sitting for long periods of time is bad. As you sit for hours on end, fatigue and muscle stiffness become negative factors in your work day. Sitting for long periods of time will cause productivity levels to drop and even the best posture habits will suffer. Sometimes sitting for extending computing sessions is unavoidable. If this is the case for you, here's 5 things you need to know...

1.) It's okay to take a break.

First and foremost, it's okay to take a short break once per hour. Actually, it's preferred! A quick 5 to 10 minute stretching session will help you avoid fatigue and the bad posture habits associated with extended sits. Stand up once per hour and walk around the office. If you can, step outside to get some fresh air. Before returning to your desk to work, make it a point to get a drink of water to stay hydrated. Sitting in your office chair for hours on end is a bad habit that should be replaced with regular breaks.

2.) Sitting for too long can take years off you life.

It's true. Sitting for long periods of time can actually shorten your life span. Studies have shown that the older we get, the more we sit. Sitting is being commonly descried as "the new smoking" and for good reason! The average adult sits for approximately 9 to 10 hours per day. Here's a couple of interesting factoids we found in an article from CNN...

  • Individuals who sit for more than 13 hours per day have a 200% greater risk of death compared to those who sat for less than 11 hours per day.
  • Tests indicate that individuals who frequently sat in stretches less than 30 minutes had a 55% lower risk of death compared to those who sat longer than 30 minutes without stretching.

That's pretty interesting stuff that you should definitely be aware of if you plan to sit at your desk all day without moving around. To make a long story short, sit less and stand up more to keep your muscles moving!

3.) The right office chair is invaluable.

This isn't a sales pitch, it's the truth. The right office chair can be a real tool in your ergonomic arsenal. It's very important to talk with your physican and an ergonomic office seating specialist to select a chair that fits your operational needs and body types. Even the best office chairs are not a "one size fits all" solution to comfort. Once you've found the perfect chair, learn to master it and get the most out of it's adjustment features to compute healthy.

4.) Good posture habits are key.

If you have to sit for hours on end, good posture habits are a must. Sitting with bad posture day-in and day-out is a recipe for poor healthy, physical strain, and unproductive work days. The good new is, there's a lot of great ways to improve posture quickly. We recommend starting with a list of tips or a diagram that can be posted within eyesight of your computer screen. There's tons available online. Studies have shown that keeping tips fresh in your mind will have you far more likely to put them to use!

5.) Poor blood flow is your enemy.

When you sit for long periods of time, blood flow is restricted. When your blood flow is restricted, your muscles and body parts aren't getting the circulation they need. When this happens fatigue sets in and it's downhill from there. Good blood flow will help you reduce energy dips and maintain high productivity levels. Ergonomic workplace solutions like sit to stand attachments and accessories are widely available to help combat poor blood flow in the workplace. With sit to stand products you can stay moving without leaving your desk for long periods of time. We highly recommend testing one out. They're pretty revolutionary!
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