Posture And Ergonomics in the Workplace
Sitting is the New Smoking?
“Sit up straight”
“Don’t Slouch”
“Shoulders back.”
If you grew up anything like I did, you heard these comments about your posture constantly by your parental figure. Like me, I am sure many of you rolled your eyes and corrected your posture until the adult who criticized you looked away. They were just trying to help. And, as I have learned as I have gotten older, they were right. Proper posture, especially when sitting at your desk for hours on end is so important for your health.
Proper ergonomics have become a hot topic lately due to the new theory that sitting all day is almost as bad for your health as smoking.
Though they are currently still conducting research on this topic, we all know that sitting for long periods of time is not a healthy lifestyle. Sitting for extended periods of time has shown to increase your chance of obesity, cause back and neck pain, increase your risk for cancer, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes, along with cutting years off of your life. But when you have a desk job, how are you supposed to not be too sedentary?
You can join the standing desk trend.
By standing while working, even for a little bit, can help with all of the listed above ailments. But when get a standing desk, don’t push yourself too hard or you will soon stop standing all together because you are uncomfortable.
To help you from slouching, try pushing your shoulder blades together a couple of times throughout the day. During the day you are looking down at your phone or down at a computer screen. That downward angle is not good for your neck or back and you should have your computer screen raised so that the middle of the screen is at eye level. (Anyone else hear their parents saying, “I told you so”?)
Some other easy things that you can do in order to help you move include:
- Going to a coworkers desk to ask them a question rather than sending an email
- Have a walking meeting
- Take the stairs rather than the elevator
- Park further from the entrance
- Drink plenty of water