From Amanda's very early writing (1990s to early 2000s), shared as it was originally written.
SITTING GIVES YOU BOWEL CANCER!
The longer you sit the more llikely you are to develop bowel cancer and osteoporosis according to Swedish and USA studies. In Sweden researchers found a 30% increase in the incidence of bowel cancer in people who had sedentary lifestyles (sitting more than 50% of their day); and in the USA they found the increase was 60%. Sitting is a very dangerous activity!
And just because you stand up most of the day be careful of saying "She'll be right Mate!". You are not safe! It was sedentary work and lifestyles that caused the damage, and standing around all day is considered sedentary! If you are dynamically active and running around all the time working up a sweat, you're in the low risk group (assuming your genetic makeup, lifestyle and dietary habits are in your favor)!
Consider the average person's lifestyle today - we wake up and sit down to have breakfast; then we travel to work where we fight for a seat on the bus, train, plane or car; we arrive at work and we prepare and sit down ; then we spend the day sitting at our desks or in meetings broken only by a lunch break - where we exchange our office seat for another seat somewhere else!!
When we finish the day - exhausted of course because we have done nothing physical all day - we sit on the way home and stagger in the door barely able to mutter hullo before we slump into the sofa! Then we (sometimes) change seats for dinner only to return to our sofas until we fall asleep in front of the TV.
No wonder bowel cancer is the number 2 killer of humans in western society (after heart disease)! If you consider the amount we sit, the food we eat and the way we eat it, the stress in our lives and the lack of exercise, and you understand the impact of this lifestyle on our bodies then it's easy to see why heart disease and bowel cancer are so common in out society.
Please pay attention to the amount of sitting you do each day. And to how little or how much exercise you do per week. If we work in an office, we need to change our work postures at least every 30 minutes. We need to alternate sitting, standing and kneeling. I hear the shrieks of "I can't do that!" or "I'd look stupid" - and it does take a certain courage to be different and make changes - but you'll look better, feel better and have more energy at the end of the day.
Be a leader and trigger healthy work practices - and reduce your chances of getting bowel cancer as well! It's always possible to find some way of standing up as you work ; place your documents on a high shelving unit or have a lecturn made or find some waist high place where you can work with minimal interruption to other people. You may feel silly, but your bottom, back and body generally will thank you. After you have been standing for 30 minutes ( and it helps to lean your hips against the drawers, shelves , cupboards on which you are leaning) , change positions and sit again (for a maximum of 30 minutes), then kneel at your desk.
Kneeling at the desk is a fantastic way to reduce the strain on your low back and your neck. You will feel the relief as soon as you kneel down. Bringing a cushion to kneel on will stop some of the knee pain from hard floors.
The golden rule of changing position every half hour - or simply stretching every 30 minutes - came from a University research project in Canberra. Muscles fatigue - even though you don't necessarily feel it - after 30 minutes of dynamic work (where they pump and relax on a regular basis). Once they fatigue, they are more likely to be injured. So it is critical to avoid fatigue, by changing posture and position every 30 minutes.
Take a kitchen timer or alarm clock with you so you are made aware of the time even if you are grossly absorbed with your work. Although you may think these ideas are impractical - they are not! Changing positions or stretching every half hour; alternating sitting, standing and kneeling; avoiding sitting are possible - just different! Be brave, be the first to try out these strategies - they work! You'll have more energy during the day and when you go home; you'll have less chance of developing bowel cancer; you'll have less back and neck pain; you'll power through your work and be more productive; and you'll avoid the 2.oopm coma that afflicts so many office workers.
Make it a fun thing in your workplace. Encourage others to join in. Assure your boss that you will be able to work more effectively - if she or he did the same thing she or he would have more energy as well.
IN A NUTSHELL: sitting and sedentary lifestyles have been heavily linked to bowel cancer, the number two killer of humans in Western Society. Change your position every 30 minutes by alternating sitting, standing and kneeling or stand up and stretch. Try starting a wellness revolution at work so everyone can work more efficiently and have more energy.
PS sitting also increases your chances of developing haemorrhoids and is the number one public enemy for the low back, but more of that another week.
