I’ve read many headlines about how bad sitting is for you, so I had an idea that I was sitting too much at work and wondered what I could do to make a difference in my health while at the office. As you know, we are moving the ODW office to a new location (so exciting), and I felt this was the perfect opportunity to make a change. While doing some research I found that sitting for long periods of time increases your risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity and lower back problems. I read these statistics from the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association: one in three deaths in this country is caused by heart disease, and on average an American dies with a heart attack every 38 seconds. About 9.4% of Americans have diabetes and that diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the US. These stats are far from static, as the AHA predicts the cost of treating cardiovascular disease will exceed $1 trillion by 2035 in comparison to $555 billion in 2015. For more AHA and ADA stats: https://healthmetrics.heart.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/At-A-Glance-Heart-Disease-and-Stroke-Statistics-2018.pdf
http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/statistics/
Jack Callaghan, a professor at Waterloo’s Department of Kinesiology and Research Chair in Spine Biomechanics and Injury Prevention stated that you should stand for 30-45 minutes every hour. https://uwaterloo.ca/stories/how-long-should-you-stand-rather-sit-your-work-station
The key seems to be not to stand or sit in any one position for too long as standing without movement can cause physical issues as well. So with all my new information, I have decided to implement a standing desk at the new office (watch our FB page for pics). My goal is to stand for 30 minutes every hour and to also move around the office throughout the day and honestly with the new bigger and beautiful interior of the new ODW, it will be easier to get those steps in every day! Feel free to share pics and tips on how you fit physical activity in during your work day with me on the Origin Dental Wellness Facebook page. Stay healthy, friends!
