Sitting all day in office job

[GFFord]

Been reading about how sitting for long periods is terrible for health and lifespan (regardless of how much exercise you get). Worried since I work at an office and am not particularly active, trying to take regular standing and walking breaks, but heard about standing desks and using exercise balls as seats are good (they keep muscles active). Anyone got any methods to keep active while doing a computer based job? Here's the link to info on the studies:
amp.cnn.com/cnn/2017/09/11/health/sitting-increases-risk-of-death-study/index.html
www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/07/09/study-excessive-sitting-cuts-life-expectancy-by-two-years

Have a look at what older people, or people with mobility issues are encouraged to do in things like sit fit, or chair yoga, and you'll have tons of things you can do throughout the day to keep you moving and stretching.

I bought an online course metabolic stretching course which cost about 25 pounds. It's frikken ace. Ive had so many hip and leg and foot issues because of sitting all day . This has really helped. It's about 10 mins a days.
Also my optician said 20/20/20
20 sec's looking away to the distance while blinking 20 times every 20 mins. Also helped my eyes.
And drink a lot of water or herbal tea so you need to pee more which equals more movement xx

electric standing desk from ikea! you can sit or stand. set alarms or pings on your phone to remind you when to switch.

Read sitting longer than an hour at a time isnt great, might set a timer like catpoppet said while at work. An IKEA standing desk sounds interesting

Reading with interest. How much are companies expected to invest in helping desk chained employees to move around? I work in education and sit all day. Sometimes I get to home time and realise that I haven't moved all day.

Just wondering if there will ever come a day where employers are expected to provide standing desks?

I used to find that making sure I drink plenty kept me active as I had to walk across the office to the toilets. I would have loved a standing desk. I also try to have an active lunch by walking to the shop to grab lunch or just walking around the surrounding area. I'm a teacher now so much more active as I spend most the day standing!

workplaceinsight.net/uk-office-workers-may-sit-at-their-desk-for-up-to-nine-hours-a-day/
This is worrying and offices need to sort this out. The studies I linked to in the original post said much shorter daily sitting times had a massive impact on life expectancy, regardless of additional exercise/gym time.

Can you at least get up every 45 mins? I vary my trips to the kitchen and toilet and can use toilets upstairs to warm up on the way (thanks air con).

Can you at least get up every 45 mins? I vary my trips to the kitchen and toilet and can use toilets upstairs to warm up on the way (thanks air con).

Standing desks are really expensive
Had some in one of the offices that I worked in

Try working 12 hour shifts in an office, days & nights !

you can get a hand cranked desk for about £200ish, but an electric I think is around £450. although quite a lot a worthwhile investment for your health!!

I'm quite careful when I get home from work too about sitting too long, I have a go on my exercise hoop when I'm watching TV, it's really good for keeping active and I've lost quite a bit of weight. There's obviously other stuff you can do to keep active while watching TV, but a hoop or exercise bike if you've got the money are great

DH has this sort of thing and it has dramatically improved his back pain from sitting.

www.amazon.co.uk/FLEXISPOT-Adjustable-Electric-Standing-Desktop/dp/B09LRRGY45?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&psc=1&msclkid=f7a4ddbde66711ec981b994c377e1202

Do you drive to work or walk/ get public transport? That doesn't help with the desk issue but an active commute helps. Also do maybe a 20 minute walk every lunchtime? If you're sociable you could invite some colleagues and call it a well-being initiative. Get up frequently from your desk too to do little jobs and errands etc.

The walk with my colleagues is a good idea @NeedToKnow101 , if I can encourage any of them!

This article from with advice from researchers in this field has quite a lot of good advice:
health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2012/05/02/are-you-sitting-yourself-to-death?_gl=1y6vpz3_ga*ZHZuQXRTb2RSMEx2Q19lSUR2M0pDd2xDVDV0WUdYMVBMX1d1dV9XR0htTHVuUkZmQnVEcTVoSURkM0FWM2ZVYw..