the Effects of Sitting

[Darren Dirt]

one aspect of most of our jobs that we'd rather be different...

http://lifehacker.com/5879536/how-sitting-all-day-is-damaging-your-body-and-how-you-can-counteract-it

[Mr. Analog]

I exercise at least 4 times a week now to offset the sittening, something I've had to do more of now that I can work from home whenever I want.

It's fairly important to use that body-thing attached to your brain, even for just an hour or two a day.

[Tom]

I exercise at least 4 times a week now to offset the sittening, something I've had to do more of now that I can work from home whenever I want.

It's fairly important to use that body-thing attached to your brain, even for just an hour or two a day.

My what-what now?

[Mr. Analog]

That thing your neck stepped in...

[Tom]

That thing your neck stepped in...

Oh you mean that grotesque flabby thing that just hangs there?

[Mr. Analog]

That's the thing!

[Thorin]

So if sitting for work is bad, should we instead get cots and lay down while working?  Or maybe one of those sensory deprivation tanks?  Or maybe we could just plug our brains in directly, a la The Matrix (from Shadowrun) or The Matrix (the movie)?

Anyway, from the originally-linked article:

"It's difficult to get an accurate assessment of what sitting all day will do to you because the effects work in tandem with diet and other risk factors."

and then the article proceeds to cut down all the problems caused by sitting.  But wait, I thought you couldn't get an accurate assessment of that?

The next section  has this gem:

"Right after you sit down, the electrical activity in your muscles slows down and your calorie-burning rate drops to one calorie per minute. This is about a third of what it does if you're walking."

Really?  You mean, if I stop walking I burn less calories than if I keep walking?  Huh, wow, sitting's totally gonna kill me!

Here's another gem:

"This isn't about working out (which is positive in its own right but doesn't counteract the effects of long periods of sitting). It's about creating pockets of moderate activity throughout the day and giving your body a respite from sitting."

So working out, or more-than-moderate activity as they're implying it is here, does nothing against the evils of sitting, but mere moderate activity like standing up at your desk adds seven years to your life?  WTF.

Re-read that article and notice how many times they say "can cause" and "studies suggest".  Lots of alarmist talk, followed by some simple suggestions for moving around a bit during the day, none of which are actually going to help you lose weight or decrease cholesterol or anything like that.  But hey, if people think standing up at their desk four times a day is going to make a difference, good luck to them.

Anyway, the only positive take-away I have from this article is the suggestion that we should use pedometers to count how many steps we take.  Although that only matters if the only exercise we get is walking.

And hey, I can't completely bag on this article, it apparently was written by a fellow Thorin.

[Melbosa]

And hey, I can't completely bag on this article, it apparently was written by a fellow Thorin.

And yet by my account you just did

[Mr. Analog]

I think the other thing to remember is that a job where you're on your butt all day has been going on for some time (scribes, telegraphists, members of Parliament, etc)

Our diets have changed considerably over the last thousand years (not to mention lifespan), so we have very little data on what it means if you are a 60 year old accountant sitting down all day.

I have to get exercise because of the medication I'm on (my feet swell up) so it helps my circulation if I get my body movin' (movin'), plus additional exercise is just plain good for your circulatory system and overall well being (mmm endorphins...)

TFA is kind of ... puffy, but while it doesn't really say anything I think it's good to remember that exercise good; sedentary bad. Even going for a 20 minute walk around the block is better than more butt time.

Furthermore, I like to move it move it, I like to

.

move it

[Tom]

I think the other thing to remember is that a job where you're on your butt all day has been going on for some time (scribes, telegraphists, members of Parliament, etc)

Our diets have changed considerably over the last thousand years (not to mention lifespan), so we have very little data on what it means if you are a 60 year old accountant sitting down all day.

I have to get exercise because of the medication I'm on (my feet swell up) so it helps my circulation if I get my body movin' (movin'), plus additional exercise is just plain good for your circulatory system and overall well being (mmm endorphins...)

TFA is kind of ... puffy, but while it doesn't really say anything I think it's good to remember that exercise good; sedentary bad. Even going for a 20 minute walk around the block is better than more butt time.

Furthermore, I like to move it move it, I like to

.

move it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34z5DGZMf_s

[Mr. Analog]

lol

[Thorin]

My problem with this article is that it lets people think that as long as they walk fifteen minutes through the mall to McDonald's, it doesn't matter if they eat two Big Macs, because they've had their 30 minutes of moderate activity.

People need to get moving to a level high enough to break a sweat and do it often.  Whether it's lifting building supplies to reno a home, running on a treadmill, running in circles whacking a ball over a net, or chasing kids while on skates, that's the stuff that builds and strengthens muscles.  Moderate activity like walking to the bus stop, or from the parking lot to the office, or up the stairs at the office, or across campus to fix yet another instructor's virus-infected workstation helps maintain muscle and burns calories faster than sitting, but it doesn't build muscle.

A short walk is better than nothing, but nothing is a pretty damn low bar to set.  Also, this article doesn't suggest a 20 minute walk, it suggests setting a timer and standing up every hour when the timer goes off.  Standing up is pretty damn close to nothing.

[Tom]

My problem with this article is that it lets people think that as long as they walk fifteen minutes through the mall to McDonald's, it doesn't matter if they eat two Big Macs, because they've had their 30 minutes of moderate activity.

People need to get moving to a level high enough to break a sweat and do it often.  Whether it's lifting building supplies to reno a home, running on a treadmill, running in circles whacking a ball over a net, or chasing kids while on skates, that's the stuff that builds and strengthens muscles.  Moderate activity like walking to the bus stop, or from the parking lot to the office, or up the stairs at the office, or across campus to fix yet another instructor's virus-infected workstation helps maintain muscle and burns calories faster than sitting, but it doesn't build muscle.

A short walk is better than nothing, but nothing is a pretty damn low bar to set.  Also, this article doesn't suggest a 20 minute walk, it suggests setting a timer and standing up every hour when the timer goes off.  Standing up is pretty damn close to nothing.

If they really think that, then one might think they deserve the heart disease Darwin award and all that.

But taking short breaks and stretching DOES benefit a person, just not in the way they claim. I find a good stretch and shake (especially for my hands/arms) helps with soreness and RSI/Arthritis issues.

I was using this RSIBreak app for a while that would lock the screen for a minute or two if you failed to take a break when it initially told you to, so you HAD to take a break.

[Thorin]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34z5DGZMf_s

Good god, three clicks later I was at the Lonely 11 song.  Sesame Street, how I miss thee.

[Darren Dirt]

Furthermore, I like to move it move it, I like to

.

move it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34z5DGZMf_s

lol I thought of that too, weird that Madagascar first came to mind even though in the early 1990s it was "new" songs like that which played in the dance clubs -- but then again I just watched it for the first time with my kids on Saturday (much funnier than I expected, and I can't believe how cute that big-eyed squirrel thingie was , "Mort").