Goodbye Sedentary Lifestyle: Why We’re Proactive Against Prolonged Sitting

One of our causes here at Ergomotion is to promote an active lifestyle by educating our visitors about the health impacts and injuries associated with a sedentary lifestyle.

Prolonged sitting and standing – namely, inactivity – both at work and at home, contributes to a bigger picture consisting of health risks like obesity and diabetes, and injuries like back, pain, neck tension, carpal tunnel, and more.

What we have noticed, however, is that people are becoming more proactive against the sedentary battle. Education – not scare tactics – alert Australians to the very real issues associated with too much sitting…

…AND too much standing! The trick is to consistently switch between the two and take actionable measures sooner when you realise something isn’t quite right. Here’s an overview of five prevalent ways people are kicking their sedentary lifestyle to the curb, instead choosing activity, good health, and outstanding well-being.

1. We recognise pain and injuries sooner

Gone are the days when we’d feel a throbbing pain or overwhelming sharpness in our back, shoulders, wrist or neck, and then struggling through the rest of the day, and simply dealing with it.

The long-term damage we were doing was just not worth it!

Now, when something doesn’t feel quite right, we’ve privy to chiropractors, osteopaths, massage therapists, and myotherapists can help diagnose and treat tissue and muscle injuries.

2. Yoga and Pilates strengthen the body and improve posture

The physical and mental health benefits of muscle-strengthening exercises result in an astounding surge in their popularity.

The two most common have got to be yoga and Pilates – we simply can’t get enough of these slow, measured, and controlled practices.

While they are not exactly the same, and there are many variants and poses within each practice, Pilates and yoga may generally have the following benefits:

• Improve your core
• Strengthen your back
• Increase flexibility
• Prevent injury
• Drain your lymphs
• Improve bone health
• Stretch hip flexors
• Invigorate the body

3. Education and awareness means people understand the health risks

If you were to tell anyone a decade ago about the effects of a sedentary lifestyle, they’d laugh you out of their office, slouch lower in their chair, and finish eating lunch at their desk.

Today, though, and, granted, over the last few years, education and awareness has soared.

Google the terms standing desk, sit stand desk, sitting is bad for you, sedentary lifestyle, or sitting is the new smoking, and you’re privy to a huge resource of blog posts, reviews, articles, scientific studies, products, stories and from every corner of our industry!

4. Standings desks are an accessible solution that makes this a reality

“OK, so I understand that a sedentary lifestyle is bad… but what do I do about it? I have to work eight hours a day, you know…”

That’s an excuse you could have gotten away with perhaps ten years ago… but not anymore!

Not only are there half a dozen electric standing desks to choose from, you can also deck out your whole workspace to be ergonomically friendly.

Think monitor arms, footrests, and of course an ergonomic office chair! (Because we don’t want to be sitting nor standing for too long at a time!)

5. People want to set a good example for their children

Those who work in education are no doubt familiar with restless children during the school day, while parents dread to see kids spending every waking hour that they’re not at school sitting on the couch watching movies, playing games, or absent-mindedly scrolling through their smartphones.

Not only do standing desks in the classroom promote an active lifestyle made up of movement between sitting and standing, it also promotes an active mind, keeping kids engaged and focused throughout the day. (Find out more about standing desks in the classroom.)

These are just five of many more reasons people are taking positive, practical action against a sedentary lifestyle and all the health and physical risks associated with it.

We’re no longer OK with a sedentary lifestyle

If you want to join the movement and make a positive change in your health, say goodbye to a sedentary lifestyle.

Why not start in the office? You can spend up to eight hours a day sitting there (and that’s without even thinking about the rest of the day, including driving, sitting on the couch, and sleeping!)

Browse our range of electric standing desks here.

Drop us a message if you have any further questions. We’d love to hear from you.

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