5 reasons to work while standing

The life of Ernest Hemingway was called "continuous rebellion." This manifested itself in everything: in his personal life, creativity and even everyday life. Hemingway slept on a hard bed and worked while standing: he put a typewriter on the windowsill and wrote for hours, shifting from foot to foot.

But in the middle of the 20th century, the problem of a sedentary lifestyle was not yet so acute. Today, people spend most of their time sitting at a computer, in a car, in front of a TV set. Inactivity is a scourge of office workers, which, fortunately, can be dealt with.

Here are five reasons to work while standing.

1. Excess weight

A sedentary sedentary lifestyle inevitably leads to extra pounds. At the same time, a recent study by scientists from the University of Chester (England) led by Dr. John Buckley showed that daily standing for three hours provides the burning of 144 kilocalories. Thus, if you change your lifestyle and spend three hours longer than usual on your feet, you can get rid of three to four kilograms in a year. It is noteworthy that Dr. Buckley himself, like Hemingway, prefers to work while standing.

2. Heart and blood vessels

Peter Katzmarzyk, along with colleagues at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center (USA), analyzed the lifestyle of more than 17,000 Americans and concluded that those who sit for most of the day have a 54% higher risk of heart attacks and other heart diseases. … In addition, according to Professor Katzmazhik, passive pastime reduces life expectancy by an average of two years.

3. Back and neck pain

A sedentary lifestyle also leads to osteochondrosis and poor posture, excruciating pain in the back and neck. The life hacker has already told how to deal with them with the help. But it turns out that problems with the musculoskeletal system can be avoided by throwing out the office chair and starting to work while standing. For example, this was done by the honorary life hacker Gina Trapani, who was forced to spend 45 to 50 hours a week at the computer.

4. Kidneys

There are dozens of studies showing that people who spend a lot of time in a sitting position are at risk of developing various diseases (including diabetes and some types of cancer).

In 2012, Thomas Yates of the University of Leicester (England) found that a sedentary lifestyle is one of the causes of kidney disease. So, the scientist found that women who sit for less than three hours a day have kidney diseases 30% less often than women who spend eight or more hours in a sitting position.

5. Productivity

Social psychologist Amy Cuddy studies body language and that. In "strong positions" the body produces more testosterone and less cortisol ("death hormone"), which promotes mental and emotional activity. The standing position is usually a "strong pose". Therefore, if you ditch your chair and retool your workplace, your activities are likely to be much more productive.

Examples of standing positions: