Work-From-Home: Two Healthy Hacks!
With so much of the world is working from home, here are two work-from-home habits to consider that will have a tremendous impact on your health!
#1 – Move (throughout the day)
Take frequent breaks and switch working positions. After 26 minutes, vascular pooling due to inactivity begins – whether you are sitting or standing (and much more severely in standing) (1). Use standing or walking “breaks” strategically throughout the day: (2)
Take a conference call while standing
Go for a mid-day walk
Set a reminder to stand and stretch every half hour
#2 – Invest (in a chair)
This cannot be overstated. People are accustomed to investing in their mattresses and in running or athletic shoes, but they will sit more than they stand or lie down: combined. (3)
Do your research and invest in a chair that will support your health! Unfortunately the MOVO chair is still in development, but here the two most important things to look for:
A backrest – without one your body will fatigue and slouch within ten minutes. (4) The taller, the better! (5)
A (slightly) declined seat. This increases the trunk-thigh angle: “the most important postural factor in the causation of low-back pain in sitting”. (6) This is the angle that your hips take between your upper body and your thighs. The ideal trunk-thigh angle for working is 110 degrees (7): a declined seat and a modest recline will get you there!
Sources:
(1) Antle, David & Cormier, Lauren & Findlay, Megan & Miller, Linda & Côté, Julie. (2018). Lower limb blood flow and mean arterial pressure during standing and seated work: Implications for workplace posture recommendations. Preventive Medicine Reports. 10. 10.1016/j.pmedr.2018.02.016.
(2) Mitsuya, Reiko & Nakamura, Keisuke & Sugita, Takuro & Ozawa, Naoya & Yaita, T. & Kawai, Takashi. (2019). An Ergonomic Evaluation of Elevating the Work Desk: The Relationship of Sitting Work with Standing Work. 10.1007/978-3-319-94484-5_24.
(3) Jin S., Kim S., Chang S.R. (2019) The Effect of the Lower Extremity Posture on Trunk While Sitting. In: Bagnara S., Tartaglia R., Albolino S., Alexander T., Fujita Y. (eds) Proceedings of the 20th Congress of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA 2018). IEA 2018. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 820. Springer, Cham
(4) Luna-Ávila, Gabriela & González-Muñoz, Elvia. (2019). Comparison of Posture, Comfort and Satisfaction Between a Dynamic Seat and a Seat with Ergonomic Criteria. 10.1007/978-3-319-94706-8_57.
(5) Occhipinti, E., Colombini, D., Molteni, G., & Grieco, A. (1993). Criteria for the ergonomic evaluation of work chairs. La Medicina del lavoro, 84 4, 274-85.
(6) Jin, Sangeun & Kim, Seulgi & Chang, Seong. (2019). The Effect of the Lower Extremity Posture on Trunk While Sitting: Volume III: Musculoskeletal Disorders. 10.1007/978-3-319-96083-8_22.
(7) Harrison, D. D., Harrison, S. O., Croft, A. C., Harrison, D. E., & Troyanovich, S. J. (1999). Sitting biomechanics part I: review of the literature. Journal of manipulative and physiological therapeutics, 22(9), 594-609.