How much time do you spend on the floor and how old (ish) are you?

[MarmaladeMarxist]

I've just been to visit my sister and it got me thinking about this. As a deliberate choice her living room has no sofas/armchairs. She's got a kitchen large enough for a wooden table and chairs, and then there were 2 other smallish downstairs rooms that have been knocked through into 1 bigger room and it's pretty much entirely floor based. It feels a bit studenty at first tbh but the more I think about it the more I like it!

There's lots of cushions/beanbags that they move round the room depending what they're doing. There is a large coffee table that they often eat at, a TV corner, and a sort of reading nook. All at floor level. She's also got some low wooden stools that double up as moveable tables. She WFH most of the week and sits on the floor to do it. Her (teenage) DC do their homework, art, board gaming etc sitting on the floor. She is in her early 50s and is up and down off the floor about a million times a day, and it really shows in how easy she finds it!! She was telling me about how one of the key things as you get older is to make sure you get get yourself up off the floor because it can save your life as an older person.

I don't think I could give up my sofa 🤣 but it did make me think about how little I get up and down off the floor and that I should do it more. I did it more when my DC were little, obviously, but as they've grown up it's not something I need to do very much.

I’m 53 and I sit on the floor every evening if I’m at home. I just find sitting cross legged on the floor very comfortable. Even if I’m on a sofa, I’ll always be cross legged or sitting on one leg.

My dad always sat/lay on the floor to watch TV and read magazines, even though there was a perfectly good sofa available. He just found it more comfortable. He is now 90, and still has excellent mobility, although he sticks to sofas nowadays!

Ooo sounds very similar to some Asian counties! Personally I have terrible knees even though I’m young ish so it would be a nightmare for me, however I do think it would probably help mobility if you’re doing something so often.

I’m 52 & get up & down from the floor a lot when playing with my cat. No problems at all, unless I’ve been exercising especially hard beforehand.

I think it’s yoga that’s mainly made the difference for me.

Not as much as your sister but I'm making an effort to be on the floor many times a day and to get up without using my hands. Having a dog helps because we play.

I love being on the floor we have totter and tumble mats and do yoga and stretches on them. I love doing puzzles on the floor drawing all sorts. Just comes really natural to me to sit or lay on the floor.
Early 30s and hope to continue as I get older.

about half an hour a week if I go to pilates!
i used to always sit or lie on the floor to watch tv when I lived with my parents as their sofa was really uncomfortable but now I have wooden floors and a comfy sofa!

My son, 99% of the time. He now has a floor bed in his room. Me and my eldest love floor time. Helps ground us.

I'm 39 and am on the floor a lot, I've got a toddler. Hearing me get up you'd be mistaken for thinking I'm a hell of a lot older😅 if I'm on a sofa or even a normal chair I always have both legs up though, can't sit up with my legs down. You'd think I'd be better on the floor but no 😂

The Blue Zones documentary talks about this in relation to the people of Okinawa and identifies this as being a factor in their health and longevity.

I have osteo arthritis in my hips and spine as well as bursitis. I can't think of anything worse than getting up and down from the floor!

I’m 54 and have always loved sitting on the floor! I work with young children so it’s my normal most days.
Apparently being able to get up and down from the floor without using your hands is a sign of great mobility as we age, so I do this everyday to check I can still do it 😂

Late 50s, 2-3 yoga classes a week but that's largely it because our house has very small rooms with furniture round the sides and anyone sitting on the floor for any length of time would be in someone else's way. Also on the ground floor it's a bit draughty in places. In our bedroom there is not really enough space at all. Which is a pity because I like sitting on the floor to sort things out etc, as a teenager I spent all my time on the floor in my parents huge living room. My mum still lives in that house and is up and down from that floor no bother in her mid 80s.

In summer I spend hours on end sitting on the ground to weed my allotment and love that.

I’m 68 and still spend a lot of time on the floor. I do my makeup and my hair sitting on the floor at a mirror that leans against the wall. If I’m sorting paperwork it happens on the floor. I basically haven’t changed habits that I acquired as a student, even though I do now have a comfy sofa.

I haven't seen that though my mum keeps telling me to watch it.

I think I need to create a floor corner for myself!

It's really good! Netflix still has it I think.

I’m on the floor a lot of the day as I work with young dc. Some of whom have asn. I do get sore from it quite quickly though and wouldn’t choose to do it at home.

I've seen this as a lifestyle choice recently. Not sure my parents in their 80s would find it very welcoming. Not that you should have to design your home around occasional visitors.

We are through the stage of small kids when you always seem to end up on the floor, but I do still sit on the floor most days. I get to a certain time of day and I am drawn to it. It's why we have a carpet in our living room - when we had hard floor it was much less comfortable to sit or kneel on and it really changed the way we used the space.

I sit in Asian squat to load the washing machine & tumble. It's not elegant - I am an obese 50-something - but it's a few extra up & downs.

Sounds OK if that's what you like. If it causes aches, pains and discomfort getting up or down then no I wouldn't do it personally. And I won't try it either, I don't need or want to. Life's too short to be a masochist!

In late sixties now, and I regularly and deliberately go from sitting to standing without using chair/sofa arms to propel me. That's a very good one for balance and leg strength. That'll do me!

I'm 40 and sit on the floor quite often, but I also have a big cosy couch too. I work with children so tend to be on the floor often during the day and have children at home too so am often crawling around retrieving things or sitting down to play on the floor. So maybe 2 hours per day on the floor all in.

However, im always stiff/achey around my hips and lower back/ cant stand straight for about a minute when I get up but it eases off quickly as I move. I suspect i have hyper mobility though so it may be related to that. If i sit still for any length of time I think I push my joints a wee bit further than they should go without realising then they hurt when they need to go back to where they belong!

When I was growing up we all used to sit on the floor a lot. We had a sofa but would often sit on the floor by choice to watch TV etc. it wasn't until I got older that I realised it was unusual! My parents are now both in good shape considering they're in their 80s, maybe this is why.

My 80 year old mother always opts to sit on the floor and always has done. My 9 year old child finds it painful and never will out of choice.

I spend as little time as possible (eg when getting into low level cupboards, washing machine or putting dog’s lead on) and struggle a bit getting up. I know I should do it more often. I’m 60.

It's not the getting up for me, it's the getting down to the floor. My knees aren't great, so it's always a bit awkward to get down. That said, I do yoga, so that helps. What would help more would be if I could eat fewer biscuits and lose a few pounds.

I've got a house tortoise, as in she's indoors in the winter (non- hibernating one). She has the run of the kitchen and dining room in the daytime, so whenever you come in you have to find her to make sure you don't step on her. She has a few places she tends to be in which are visible, but if not I'm dropping to my knees to play "Hunt the tortoise!" Also another game is "hunt the poo" in case she's pooed outside her enclosure, fun times in this house! I'm also on the floor sorting her cage out, feeding her, giving her a bath etc.
I wash the bathroom floors on my knees, come to think of it. Not bad for 65!

26 years of sitting working on floor with toddlers has killed my back and knees. I don't floor sit ever now