The Side-Effects of Sitting: Tips to Reduce Fatigue in a Sedentary Lifestyle
By Simon Hung
July 18, 2016You’ll want to sit down for this. In fact, you probably already are. Many Canadians have adopted a sedentary lifestyle with office environments and the daily use of computers -- in other words, you’re sitting down a lot throughout the day and it could be slowly hurting you.
From repetitive stress injuries to eye strain to fatigue through inactivity, the list of side-effects for extended periods of sitting is worrisome. A study conducted by Dr. David Alter of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute found that those who sit for eight to nine hours a day have a greater risk of long-term health problems. Specifically, the study found that prolonged sitting raised the risk of cardiovascular disease by 14%, cancer by 13%, diabetes by 91% and those who did not regularly exercise had a 40% greater risk of early death -- just look at this infographic via MedicalBillingandCoding.org to see some of the facts.
Luckily, you don’t need to be a gym rat or rekindle your days of high school physical education to add a little extra exercise throughout your day. We’ve listed a few different methods ranging from free to debatably overpriced that can help desk jockeys reduce fatigue on a regular basis.
Stand (FREE!)
The most obvious way to avoid sitting for extended periods is to stand, although you may look a bit out of place if you choose to randomly stand in your classroom or office. However, you can alter your habits to accommodate more standing, such as standing if you commute via public transit, as well as standing to eat your lunch or during meetings. These small changes can help increase energy expenditure throughout your day, as standing upright uses 10% more energy than sitting.
Take the Stairs (FREE!)
Climbing a flight of stairs uses 200% more energy than sitting and it’s an easy way to add some menial exercise to your day. While this may be a little impractical if you happen to work on a high floor in a tall building, climbing a few flights of stairs and then taking the elevator is one way to add little exercise to your routine. However, if you work, live or study on a low floor of a building, there are few excuses not to skip the elevator once in a while.
Play Pokémon GO (FREE! on Android and iOS)
You may have heard about this mobile game that’s sweeping the nation and causing people to walk off cliffs, quit their jobs and actually go outside. It’s Pokémon GO and the much-anticipated app is now officially available in Canada. For those who haven’t heard about it, the game allows you to track, catch and train Pokémon in the real world. It’s a thrill for anyone who grew up playing the games and competition is fierce to catch the best Pokémon. It has stirred some controversy as people have been showing up in places they shouldn’t go to hunt rare Pokémon and the mechanics of the game requires you to get outside and walk -- just be sure you have a believable reason for taking those extended breaks, as “catching Blastoise along the highway” likely won't sit well with your boss. Be sure to read our guide with 10 essential items you'll need before you go hunting!
Use a Mechanical Keyboard (Around $100.00)
Choosing the right keyboard to use with your computer can help to reduce strain on your hands and prevent fatigue. Most keyboards use a membrane switch, which use a flat film underneath the entire keyboard to detect keystrokes. Mechanical keyboards use individual switches under each key to detect keystrokes and there are a number of switch types suitable for different uses, but the main benefit is that you don’t need to fully press each key, as mechanical keyboards are able to register keystrokes after a certain actuation point. As a result, you can type quicker and move your fingers less in the long term. Although they are more expensive and generally marketed to gamers, mechanical keyboards are great for writers and typists, as they are known to help improve typing accuracy and reduce fatigue.
Use an Ergonomic Mouse (Under $100.00)
Along with your keyboard, your mouse is something that your hand will be resting on for most of the day, so it’s important that you choose a comfortable and ergonomic mouse to reduce the likelihood of repetitive stress injuries. While specialized mice do exist, they can be cumbersome and awkward to use. Logitech’s MX line of mice are popular, as they are ergonomic and provide some handy productivity features like a super-fast scroll wheel. A common option for spreadsheet warriors is to use a gaming mouse with programmable buttons and map actions like copy, paste and common formulas to specific buttons.
Improve Your Lighting (FREE! and up)
Computer Vision Syndrome is a real concern for those who use a computer on a regular basis, as the backlighting on computer screens can cause eye strain due to the unnatural levels of artificial light. Free programs like f.lux automatically adjust the colour temperature of your screen based on the time of day to help reduce eye strain with more diffused colours and softer tones. There are other accessories that can help to reduce eye strain, such as bias lighting and even specialized glasses that use amber lenses to block high-frequency lights, at the cost of looking like a pretentious hipster.
20/20/20 (FREE!)
This simple exercise is another method to help reduce eye strain during the day and it’s even recommended by the Canadian Association of Optometrists -- every 20 minutes, take a 20 second break and focus on something 20 feet away. This routine is meant to regulate your eyes and ensure that you aren’t staring at a screen for too long -- just be sure not to focus on a far-away co-worker during this exercise, otherwise you’ll probably receive a call from human resources.
Create Reminders (FREE! and up)
Many smartwatches and fitness bands have standing reminders integrated with their software, but you don’t need an expensive gadget to remind yourself to get up during the course of the day:
- Set an hourly reminder in Microsoft Outlook to tell you to stand
- Take a walk around the neighbourhood during your breaks
- Drink copious amounts of water so you’ll require frequent trips to the bathroom
- Attach a sticky note to your computer screen as a reminder to get up
- Pick your loudest, most annoying co-worker and get up every time they start talking
Of course, the onus is ultimately on you to actually get up, but it is important to regularly stand, even if it’s for a short period of time.
Improve Your Posture (FREE! and up)
You may have ignored parents pleas to “sit up straight” or “stop slouching” during your misspent youth, but as it turns out -- they were right. Poor posture and sitting like a contortionist decreases overall blood flow and increases the likelihood of joint pain. While maintaining a good posture is free, if you’re having trouble breaking your sitting habits, there are accessories that you can buy to help improve your posture, including wrist rests, back rests and foot rests.
Build a Costanza Desk (Likely not free)
If you’re getting back pain because you own a wallet filled with receipts from the past 20 years, it may be time to take drastic measures to prevent fatigue while you work. George Costanza has made plenty of questionable decisions, but this is not one of them. If you have enough room under your desk (and a sizable budget), consider building yourself a “Costanza Desk” -- a little slice of office paradise where you can take a nap and relax. Impractical? Yes. Do we want one? You bet we do.
While you may not have the budget to build a Costanza Desk, it is important to take steps to mitigate the amount of fatigue you may encounter while sitting and we hope a few of these tips help you in your daily life.
Be sure to let us know in the comments if you use any of the tricks we mentioned or if you have any of your own. Now if you'll excuse us, there appears to be a Charizard in the middle of the road, so that's our cue to exit.
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