15/11/2021
STAND-UP TABLE
There is no doubt that sitting for long period is inevitable for office workers in sedentary jobs in commercial cities like Lagos, Abuja and Port-Harcourt, especially where there is heavy traffic.
An office worker spends an average of eleven hours sitting in a day, three hours to and fro office in traffic and eight hours working on his/her table Monday to Friday. The eleven hours of sitting is like asking someone to sit down from 8.00am to 7.00pm. It’s not funny, but is the truth. (The more you sit the less your move. The less you move the more the risk you are from heart disease). Employees in sedentary jobs cut across different sectors, such as Tech companies, IT Depts, Banks, Telecoms, Oil and Gas and so on.
Studies have shown that sitting continuously for long period has detrimental effect on one’s health because it raises the risk of heart disease, stroke, and high cholesterol. Sitting for long period also put pressure on the back muscles, neck and spine.
In one of the health articles on side effects of sitting for long period, I read that, in 2018, after the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook learned about the benefits of standing desk, Apple, a company with sound HR policies provided standing desks for all its 12,000 employees in its Cupertino headquarters.
Our sedentary lifestyle of sitting behind desks/table for hours in the office, in traffic and getting home to watch favourite TV programs combined with regular stress is a threat to our health. It is important to take care of one’s health every time, being the most precious gift, especially at the productive/working age bracket to avoid result of poor management of health later in life.
There is an adage that “The best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment”
Reducing sedentary time can improve physical, metabolic and mental health, hence the need for change in lifestyle which necessitate standing to work.
It is recommended that for every two hours sitting, one hour should b