How is a Sedentary Lifestyle Affecting Our Health?

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How is a Sedentary Lifestyle Affecting Our Health?

Doctors and other medical professionals often use the term โ€˜sedentary lifestyleโ€™ to describe someone who engages in no or little regular physical activity or movement. It describes a person โ€“ regardless of whether they are a child or an adult โ€“ who does not do sufficient physical exercise (or even enough day-to-day movement) to be healthy and fit.

A colloquial term for those who are spending their days sedentary is a โ€˜couch potatoโ€™!

Whatโ€™s contributing to our sedentary lifestyle?

A sedentary lifestyle has (unfortunately) become more apparent in many Australians, and there are a few reasons why.

What's contributing to out sedentary lifestyle?
Technology is the big caveat here. Donโ€™t get us wrong: technology is amazing and we love it! But the ease at which we can access information, watch movies, play games, and talk to our friends has resulted in a lifestyle where we simply donโ€™t move as often.

Back in the day, to create entertainment, weโ€™d play board games, or ride our bikes around the street. We didnโ€™t have tablets to play Candy Crush โ€“ instead we walked to the shops and bought ourselves candy treats.

Weโ€™ve become accustomed to this sort of behaviour, and for those Gen Y-ers who have grown up using an iPad and can navigate their way around an iPhone better than Baby Boomers, theyโ€™re getting used to a dangerous practice that can have adverse health effects in the future.

Manual labour has also found itself competing with machines and computers. Many physically based jobs have, over the past several decades โ€“ as technology improved โ€“ been replaced with automatic machinery. This shift from physical labour to office jobs is a key contributor.

Physical activity vs. exercise:

These are two terms that are often interchanged, but theyโ€™re not entirely the same.

You see, all exercise is physical activity, but not all physical activity is exercise.

Physical activating refers to any body movement, for any purpose, such as:

  • Standing on the train
  • Climbing up and down stairs
  • Carrying in the supermarket bags from the car
  • Vacuuming the house
  • Playing with children
  • Washing a car

Basically, it is any bodily movement that requires energy.

Exercise is a sublet of physical activity, and is defined as movement that is โ€œplanned, structured, and repetitiveโ€, with the aim of improving and maintaining overall physical fitness and wellness.

Both physical activity and exercise are beneficial to your health, and can improve your heart health.

What can you do to combat a sedentary lifestyle (outside of the office)?

In the office, we, of course, recommend height adjustable desks. You can switch between sitting and standing with one of our electric desks as often as needed, throughout your entire workday. Memory settings remember your favourite positions, so you can enjoy precise and appropriate height settings when youโ€™re sitting and standing.

For more information on standing desks, the workplace, and the dangers of prolonged sitting, you can check out the following blog posts:

โ˜žย 5 features you should look for in a standing desk

โ˜žย โ€™60 minutesโ€™ investigates: is sitting down killing us? Sitting is the new smoking

โ˜žย Making the switch to a standing desk

Weโ€™re also passionate about conveying the fact that it doesnโ€™t take a gym session during your workday to inject some movement:

โ€“ Get up and out of the office for a brisk ten-minute walk before lunch
โ€“ Get up more often to talk to people (instead of sending an email!)
โ€“ Aim to drink more water so you get up to refill and use the bathroom more often
โ€“ Choose the stairs over the lift
โ€“ Get to work ten minutes early for a brisk walk to start your morning on an energised foot!

Outside of the office, itโ€™s really a matter of being conscious and open to improvement. You could:

โ€“ Get up during every commercial break and walk up and down the stairs once
โ€“ Walk to the local shops instead of driving (especially if youโ€™re only buying one or two items!)

โ€“ Suggest a walk at the local park before or after a coffee catch up (rather than just a coffee catch up!)
โ€“ Get into the habit of adding a brisk 10-minute walk on a Saturday morning to kick-start your day
โ€“ Spread out general chores: instead of waiting for a mess to build up and spending your whole Sunday cleaning the house, spend a shorter amount of time most days of the week cleaning up (even five minutes of tidying messy clothes will help!)
โ€“ Spend more time outside (whether itโ€™s gardening or playing with the dog for 15 minutes, every little bit of movement helps. And youโ€™ll get your daily vitamin D dosage!)

School holidays

School holidays are two words that illicit shrieks of excitement from children (freedom โ€“ finally!) but cause parents to groan in despair. How are you going to keep them entertained for two whole weeks?

What's is a sedentary lifestyle?
While itโ€™s simply not realistic to presume that parents can take this sort of time off work to do daily activities, there are still a few ways you can keep minds and bodies active during the holidays.

If you can, take a few days off, even if itโ€™s three or four days of their total two-week break. Plan activities for these days, even simple ones like going shopping, visiting a family member, or spending an hour or two at a playground.

If youโ€™re more into structured plans, you could:

  • Enrol children in sports days
  • Sign them up for cooking classes
  • Lead an exploration of your capital city
  • Take them bowling
  • Plan a picnic in public gardens like Melbourneโ€™s Botanical Gardens
  • Have a day out at the zoo
  • Visit a market (like food or arts and crafts, and a day or night market)
  • Visit a museum

Spend some time planning out school holidays to ensure bored kids donโ€™t end up sitting at home on their laptops for the whole two weeks. If you canโ€™t take more than a few days off, consult with other parents to see if you can spread holiday duties with them.

Of course, ask kids what they would like to do. Maybe itโ€™s just as simple as taking the dog to the park or spending a day at the shopping centre.

Above all, donโ€™t forget that you donโ€™t need to exhaust your children. Itโ€™s OK to have a few quiet days at home. Young ones might like to colour while watching their favourite TV show, or snuggle under the doona and enjoy a movie night โ€“ and thatโ€™s no problem. Just make sure theyโ€™re not sitting like zombies for the entire day.

We donโ€™t have room for a sedentary lifestyle! Set the right example for your children and keep their minds and bodies active and energised!

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author avatar
Guy Director
Higher Diploma in Mechanical Engineering. Ergomotion Director since 2005.

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Ergomotion

Google Reviews

Rick Bruce 02/11/24

Google
After doing some due diligence and research into actuators I settled on this unit from ergomotion this unit is so solid and the operation is quite and flawless. The purchasing process and the shipping was absolutely fantastic!! I couldnโ€™t be happier with the product and the entire process, I would highly recommend this companyโ€ฆ. Rick Bruce

Shelley Jensen 07/09/24

Google
Guy (the owner) delivered the desk and set it up quickly. He then gave me a lesson on how to use it and how to get the most out of it. Arrived on time and was absolutely lovely to deal with throughout the whole process. Highly recommend.

clifford sneider 06/09/24

Google
Guy was fantastic and the desk is amazing

Jo Manning 08/08/24

Google
I bought an adjustable desk from Guy a couple of years ago, got great service and good price. Recently we had a tiny issue which could not be fixed over the phone. Guy was more than happy to come out and look at it 2 days later. All fixed! I really appreciated his patience with me and accommodating us so quickly. Great old fashioned service and piece of mind. I love it. I know where to get my second desk when needed. Thank you Guy. Jo Manning

Deborah Hunt 25/07/24

Google
ergomotion were fantastic to deal with. excellent customer service and a great product.

Andrew Pieterse 14/06/24

Google
Great service and really quick shipping. It is great to know that you are getting quality parts from a Scandinavian manufacturer with your standing desk purchase rather than the cheap knock off stuff you get from other major brands. Reasonably priced for the quality too!

Janette Clarke 20/05/24

Google
Guy was very accommodating with meeting him at a time that suited me. He assembled the desk prior to me collecting so I only had to carry it inside with help (it's pretty heavy). The desk is great, the storage racks underneath with the 6 x built in powerpoints was worth the extra money. I have a functioning & tidy workplace.
Guy was brilliant, I highly recommend.
Janette

Nickel 10/05/24

Google
Have now purchased 2 stand up office desks off Guy, benchmark sales service from him, all via email, so easy; from quote to plug in, only matched by the strong quality of these machines, solid and stable. If only everything in life was this easy and reliable.

Jennifer Fadriquela 23/03/24

Google
I purchased an EDesk this month from Ergomotion, and it was a remarkably smooth transaction. Guy was eager to answer all my questions before my purchase. As a first-time buyer of a standing desk, I truly appreciated how he addressed my queries with thorough details and provided options within my budget.

The delivery process was also smooth, despite a slight delay in the ETA. Guy ensured I received all necessary updates from the courier/removalist.

I've been using the desk for a couple of weeks now and I'm satisfied with it. It's sturdy on all height adjustments and the motor works as expected. I also like oak finish because it's clean-looking and suits my room setup.

Overall, I'm happy with my purchase and I'll definitely recommend Ergomotion to someone looking for their desk needs.

Josh Oliver 04/02/24

Google
I've had an ergomotion desk for 10 years. It's still as good today as it was brand new. Over the years Guy has always responded promptly to any guidance I've needed (mostly help putting the desk back together after removalists take it apart).
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