
“One recent study, from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La., followed 17,000 Canadians over 12 years and found that those who sat for most of the day were 54 percent more likely to die of heart attacks than those who didn’t.
The findings have spawned a new diagnosis: “sitting disease.” And strikingly, even regular exercise and a healthy diet don’t protect you—sitting in a chair for eight hours after going to the gym and munching on tempeh is still sitting.” ‘Kill Your Desk Chair - & Start Standing’, Drake Bennett, Business Week, 28/06/2012
It never occurred to me that I could work standing at my desk until I heard about some taiji colleagues benefiting from doing so. Intuitively it seemed worth trying & I worked through my resistance (&, interestingly, fear) and tried standing at the computer. I found my body did not become tired during the day, I felt much less stagnant, my posture improved (I was 5’11”, now I am 6’), & so did my taiji, and, after a period of adjustment, seemed to be more productive in my work. At least for now I am a convert. Of course I do sit down sometimes – for meals, meetings and I have a handy filing cabinet next to me for when I’m in need of a change. I even lie down when its bed-time!
The findings have spawned a new diagnosis: “sitting disease.” And strikingly, even regular exercise and a healthy diet don’t protect you—sitting in a chair for eight hours after going to the gym and munching on tempeh is still sitting.” ‘Kill Your Desk Chair - & Start Standing’, Drake Bennett, Business Week, 28/06/2012
It never occurred to me that I could work standing at my desk until I heard about some taiji colleagues benefiting from doing so. Intuitively it seemed worth trying & I worked through my resistance (&, interestingly, fear) and tried standing at the computer. I found my body did not become tired during the day, I felt much less stagnant, my posture improved (I was 5’11”, now I am 6’), & so did my taiji, and, after a period of adjustment, seemed to be more productive in my work. At least for now I am a convert. Of course I do sit down sometimes – for meals, meetings and I have a handy filing cabinet next to me for when I’m in need of a change. I even lie down when its bed-time!

I later found out there is mounting evidence (confirming my hunch, excuse the pun) to indicate that excessive sitting, or Sitting Disease, is harmful to one’s wellbeing.
Want to know more?
Some links you might want to follow up:
Why you might want to take this seriously:
Sitting Down is Killing You (a scary one!)
Inactivity as Deadly as Smoking
Sedentary lifestyle can lead to pulmonary embolism, study finds
Stand up While You Read This!,
The longer you sit, the earlier you die
Some good news:
Can spending less time sitting down add years to your life?
The Many Benefits of Standing at Your Desk
7 Health Benefits of Standing Up While Working
(Ernest Hemingway Standing to Work Above)
What you can do:
Kill Your Desk Chair—and Start Standing
A Sitting Person’s Guide to Standing Up
Become a Stand-Up Guy: The History, Benefits, and Use of Standing Desks
And just in case this is all too much!
Three cups of coffee a day ‘could stave off Alzheimer’s disease’
Want to know more?
Some links you might want to follow up:
Why you might want to take this seriously:
Sitting Down is Killing You (a scary one!)
Inactivity as Deadly as Smoking
Sedentary lifestyle can lead to pulmonary embolism, study finds
Stand up While You Read This!,
The longer you sit, the earlier you die
Some good news:
Can spending less time sitting down add years to your life?
The Many Benefits of Standing at Your Desk
7 Health Benefits of Standing Up While Working
(Ernest Hemingway Standing to Work Above)
What you can do:
Kill Your Desk Chair—and Start Standing
A Sitting Person’s Guide to Standing Up
Become a Stand-Up Guy: The History, Benefits, and Use of Standing Desks
And just in case this is all too much!
Three cups of coffee a day ‘could stave off Alzheimer’s disease’