2020 has had a dramatic impact on the amount of time that I spend moving – commuting, traveling, walking to meetings, walking to others’ offices with a question, etc. Basically, none of that is happening now. While I still exercise, I find that I am sitting many more hours during a day, glued to my computer and countless Zoom calls. Then at the end of the day, we sit for the family meal, sit to watch TV or read, and then go to bed. It’s become an awful lot of sitting.

 

Unfortunately, yet not surprisingly, sitting is not great for your health. This fact is not new, and in 2010, it was labeled the “sitting disease” by the scientific community. It sparked a resurgence in stand-up desks being incorporated into offices. (Did you know Michelangelo was one the first avid users of a stand-up desk in the 1400’s?) I bought an electric stand-up desk for my home office this year, but honestly, I don’t stand nearly as much as I should. I’m not sure why. I get so consumed working, I think I simply forget.

 

How about you? Are you sitting too much? Besides standing at your desk, can you incorporate more movement into your day? This may sound corny, but can you walk around your house a bit to simulate walking to a meeting? Can you climb your stairs a couple of times a day to mimic going to other floors in your office? Can you take a break to walk around your block for 15 minutes as if you were walking to lunch? In fact, I have just posted a note on my computer screen that says MOVE! to help me to remember to get up and away from my desk more often. What can you do?