Who would have thought that sitting at a desk all day at school or at work can actually harm you? Apparently, sitting is the new smoking. In other words, sitting in a chair all day is harmful to one’s well-being and there are studies that show that sitting for long periods at a time at work can take years off your life expectancy. How is this even possible?
Six hours. That is how long one should be sitting throughout the day. Anything more than that makes a person 40% more likely to die within 15 years than someone who sits for less than 3 hours. Sitting causes weight gain and other and issues with the human body. Obese people sit for 2.5 more hours a day than do thin people. This can’t be a coincidence. Obese people tend to be less active. . Along with watching one’s caloric intake, the common recommendation of the many various diets and weight loss programs is to become active. Even simply increasing one’s activity by 15 minutes to start makes a significant impact to one’s health. Lastly, while you are seated, leg muscles are shut off, calorie burning drops to 1 per minute, and enzymes that help break down fat drop 90%.
It is difficult for students who need to study and do homework and adults who work at a desk to not sit around all day. Am I supposed to stand in the middle of the library doing my homework? Surprisingly, the answer to that question is yes. Standing and getting work done is the new phenomenon and can increase productivity. Also, standing can be better for your health. According to Men’s Fitness, “not only does working standing up not overtax the brain, it has the added benefit of burning 80-100 calories an hour, improving blood flow, alleviating back pain, strengthening muscles, and actually boosting productivity.” It seems hard to believe that standing can actually increase productivity. But, there are many reports where companies use standing desk and have seen increase productivity.
Some of the large 
companies that now offer standing desks are Google, Facebook, and FF Venture Capital. “Google offers standing desks to employees as part of their employee-wellness program” states ReadWrite. In other words, employees looking to improve their health or who have a health issue can request a standing desk. More than 250 employees working at Facebook use standing desks. In a study that they performed, they found that people who used standing desks had high energy levels in the office and were able to focus on a task more easily. Facebook recruiter Greg Hold said “ I don’t get the 3 o’clock slump anymore, I feel active all day long.”
If you think a standing desk is weird, what would you think of a treadmill desk? Yes, a treadmill desk. It is exactly what the name suggests. Instead of a chair to sit on at your desk, you walk the treadmill. This may sound crazy, but studies show that the treadmill desk is actually beneficial to an individual. Canada based researchers
analyzed the strongest 23 active desk studies. What they found was that both types of desks reduced sedentariness and improved mood, but the treadmill desk clearly offered greater health benefits but seemed to slow done someone’s work pace at first. They also found that workers mood changed from being fatigue, tension and depression to more vigor, energy, focus, and happiness.
In addition, further proof that too much sitting is not conducive to a healthy and productive lifestyle is the introduction of the FitBit and other similar devices. Individuals wear these devices like a watch, but they can track their steps taken for the day as well as receive alerts that they have been sitting to long and need to get up. I find this would be helpful to remind me to get up and take a walk throughout the day.
While I agree with the proven health risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle, the idea of studying or working with a standing desk is a personal choice. Personally, I need to be comfortable when I am studying or doing work. If I am standing up I believe I will be distracted with my work as my legs will start to hurt and I will get uncomfortable. I understand that it can increase one’s productivity. But, that is all based on who the individual is and how they work best.
If you’re like me, my suggestion would be to make sure you do not sit too long consecutively and make a point to take a quick walk. Not only will this give you a break from studying, but your health will also be benefitting.
I liked this post because even though its written about desk jobs, it can also apply to us as students. I know it happens to me when i am studying in the library all day. I usually need to go to the gym or for a run after a long day of studying because I’m so fidgety and stiff from sitting for so long. I think the exercise also helps my brain to get back on track and get the thinking juices flowing again. I am also always standing at work, i don’t get worn out. I think this is because i run around so much, the blood is flowing and I’m not just sitting still bored out of my mind.
I found this post very interesting. Someone covered the same topic in an earlier post, but they only covered the negative effects of sitting. I appreciate that you offered the alternative of standing, or even walking on the treadmill, at your desk because I did not think that was a practical idea and could not think of any more alternatives. I have worked at a desk for full-work days and it certainly had a negative effect on me. I felt very fatigued and my body was very tight from little physical activity. I am not sure if I could work and stand at the same time, but it is definitely vital that you take breaks to move around. I find the same effects in school. As a matter of fact, I once tried to stand up during a class in middle school and my teacher commanded that I remain seated. I think this information should be more commonly known amongst students and office workers to prevent more issues with physical capabilities.
I agree that desk jobs definitely involve increased health risks. In the first study you mention that anyone who sits more than 6 hours a day is 40 percent more likely to die within 15 years versus someone who sits less than 3 hours a day. After learning about relative risk from Andrew’s class, this statistic was alarming to me. So, when I went to the link, I did not come across a study, just random facts. This means we have no idea how large the sample was, how many things were measured (possible Texas sharp shooter problem), or if it was an experiment or observational study. From the way the statistic is worded, I believe this is probably an observational study. And if in fact this 40 percent is accurate, I feel this is one of those instances where statistically significant results do not guarantee practically significant results. There could have been a small sample size, or the result could have been due to chance. You also mention how obese people sit for 2.5 more hours a day versus thin people. Since we do not know whether this came from an observational study or an experiment, we do not know sitting was the cause to the obesity. It could have been that increased amounts sitting caused obesity, or that obesity caused more sitting, or that there was a third confounding variable driving the relationship. Also, this post had me thinking about other potential health risks involved with desk jobs. One idea that came to mind was an increased chance of developing carpel tunnel syndrome. Someone at a desk job certainly types more than someone who does not sit at a computer all day. I found this study that shows a relationship between work occupation and likeliness of developing carpel tunnel syndrome. This is an observational study, so this does not prove desk jobs caused an increased chance of getting carpel tunnel syndrome. I would propose an experiment that splits people into several groups with different hours spent typing. I would then compare the percentages that eventually developed carpel tunnel to try to obtain a more causal relationship. Still, this was a great choice of topic and I hope more research is done before we all have desk jobs!
If Andrew is reading this I’m sorry, i took this class even though I’m a science major. One main reason I’m studying to be a doctor is because i can’t sit at a desk and do work for the rest of my life. This blog shows exactly how i feel about sitting at a desk all day. I agree that sitting and doing work at a desk isn’t productive and can cause less productivity in the workplace.
This blog was very interesting to me considering my dad recently told me about how his company is performing an experiment that my dad willingly decided to use a standing desk in his office as opposed to the standard sitting desk. This does seem that standing would be better for you especially for workers who are behind desks for hours at a time. As students, we are constantly sitting during class and hardly ever have time to physically move when it comes to studying and doing work afterwards. I know that my dad feels healthier but physically gets tired easier from all the standing and then just wants to sit down by half way through the work day. Although the research you presented seems legitimate, I wonder if maybe the people who are simply willing to use standing desks are more fit than people who sit during work. According to this Huffington Post article, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/standing-desk-sitting-danger-study_561e87aee4b050c6c4a3bb7f standing desks aren’t even useful because the body is still stolid and the best method would be the treadmill desk because the body is in constant movement, which is best for our bodies.