Staying healthy at work - are sit stand desks the answer?
Sit-stand workstations are becoming more popular but the emphasis should be on more movement not just standing. In 2017 Malcolm Turnbull got one and so many new office spaces. The sit- stand desk that converts from a sit at type desk to one you can stand at in just seconds. We have been using Varidesk at our clinic for a few years now. But is it the answer? Certainly we need to sit less but then not just stand more but move more. Prolonged stationary standing is not good for us either.
Our message must be “ stand up, sit less, move more”. A study in the UK looked at bus drivers, who sat for most of their day and bus conductors who were on the move and found that the drivers had double the coronary artery heart disease compared to the conductors. This highlights simply the adverse effects of sitting. Research shows prolonged sitting leads to reduced metabolic and vascular health, such as affecting glucose metabolism linked to diabetes.
Activity trackers are a great way to monitor your activity levels and encourage regular movement. Walking meetings, talking to a colleague vs sending an email, locating printers away from the computers forcing movement during the day are examples of how to increase activity.
The take home message for office workers is for every 30 minutes of your day limit sitting to less than 20 minutes, 8 minutes in standing and more than 2 minutes of moving e.g. walking, stretching etc.
Follow this link to learn more: https://au.varidesk.com/en-au/home
Active Kids - Smart Kids
Improving Academic Results of School Aged Children Through the Use of Physical Activity
Mason Munzberg’s Year 12 2018 Research Project focused on the benefits of physical activity upon school aged children’s academic results. The outcome displayed various connections between the two topics and multiple sources displayed reliability of statements made. It was found that physical activity has a positive impact on academic results and the cognitive functioning of the brain through the release of hormones resulting in increased academic results. Additionally, it was found that physical activity was having the most significant impact upon children around the adolescent stages of life with no real conclusion into which gender was advantaged greater. Finally, it was found that a threshold amount of 60 minutes of physical activity per day gave students the greatest chance of boosting academic results. Dick Telford (2018) stated, allocating time within class to physical activity was more than made up for once children returned, as students were more alert, concentrated and willing to learn.