Although computers are an integral part of our daily lives, transforming how we work, communicate, and entertain ourselves, it’s become well-understood how the dangerous endemic rise in sedentary behavior and prolonged static postures harms our bodies. Many studies over the years have confirmed these prolonged periods of sitting and repetitive motions have significant adverse effects on our health, well-being and productivity.
In titling this article containing Best Practices for mitigating the deleterious effects of prolonged static postures, we laud the remarkable work of poet Walt Whitman who’s famous poem, “I Sing The Body Electric“, explores the miracle we recognize as the human body.
In our case for safety professionals, your intrepid author’s steadfast attention is myopically focused on exploring a remarkable large-scale research project, started just a few months ago, involving tens of thousands of people working on their computers.
Ahead of exploring that project, let’s decisively inventory serious health issues cited in an article at Better Health (from the Australian government) which inventories well-documented effects of prolonged static postures such as are the norm while working on our computers, “The dangers of sitting: why sitting is the new smoking“. While you may not prefer the article title, the content is very well done, based on irrefutable medical science.
- "Legs and gluteals - Sitting for long periods can lead to weakening and wasting away of the large leg and gluteal muscles."
- "Weight - If you spend a lot of time sitting, digestion is not as efficient, so you retain those fats and sugars as fat in your body."
- "Hips and back - Just like your legs and gluteals, your hips and back will not support you as well if you sit for long periods. Sitting causes your hip flexor muscles to shorten, which can lead to problems with your hip joints. Poor posture may also cause poor spine health such as compression in the discs in your spine, leading to premature degeneration, which can be very painful."
- "Anxiety and depression - We don’t understand the links between sitting and mental health as well as we do the links between sitting and physical health yet, but we do know that the risk of both anxiety and depression is higher in people that sit more."
- "Cancer - Emerging studies suggest the dangers of sitting include increasing your chances of developing some types of cancer, including lung, uterine, and colon cancers. The reason behind this is not yet known."
- "Heart disease - Sitting for long periods has been linked to heart disease."
- "Diabetes - Research suggests that people who spend more time sitting have a 112 per cent higher risk of diabetes."
The Columbia University Medical Center Project
Having laid a foundation of the very real effects of prolonged static postures, courtesy of the Better Health article, we take brief pause and consider the harmful impacts on employees and the organizations they work for, from unmitigated prolonged static postures.
Such palpable impacts include “unnecessary and preventable” personal health problems, productivity impairment, unnecessary healthcare expenditures, financial loss, reportable injury cases and more.
Let’s pivot our attention to The TED Radio Hour and NPR‘s consummate reporting (Body Electric) on a project recently undertaken by Columbia University Medical Center Lead Researcher, Dr. Keith Diaz, and team in New York. The multi-part reporting, in podcast format, is easy-listening and highly recommended.
Precipitating this project, Columbia University Medical Center Lead Researcher, Dr. Keith Diaz, and others had published this study, Breaking Up Prolonged Sitting to Improve Cardiometabolic Risk: Dose–Response Analysis of a Randomized Crossover Trial, showing that five minutes of walking per half hour largely mitigates the ongoing damage. This is certainly consistent with similar studies conducted around the globe in recent years.
Cro-Magnon uninformed managers shouldn’t expect to lose 40 minutes a day from an employee’s time as the goal is a target and any progress towards this particular goal which yields palpable ROI. The impacts from breaking up prolonged static postures on health and productivity is remarkable. This is “working smarter” instead of the obsoleted old school of “working harder“. Many of the world’s most successful companies are already tuned into this Human Capital Optimization which benefits employees as much as their employers.
The initial study cohort was small in size, however, a follow-up project including roughly 20,000 people has further supported results. Beyond clear beneficial health impacts, the fatigue and emotional impacts were pronounced.
While there’s no substitute for listening to the report on the project, some takeaways include:
- “For years, medical experts have raised the alarm about the deleterious effects of sedentary behavior on the human body. Sitting too much has been linked with numerous health concerns including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and early death.”
- “Breaking our sedentary habits is no easy task – especially when U.S. adults spend an average of 9.5 hours sitting per day, often tied to computers, laptops, and phones.” “So, what can we do about it? In the new podcast series, Body Electric, NPR host Manoush Zomorodi investigates this very question.“
- "More than 20,000 people signed up to participate."
- "Diaz and his team found a "dose response relationship," meaning the more breaks a person took, the better they felt."
- "Even when participants didn't meet their goals, they reported feeling better, Diaz said. The half-hour group reported on average eight movement breaks a day — about half of the target for an eight-hour workday. But Diaz said he expected this: It made sense that people would often either be too busy or forget to take their breaks. "Even though people weren't as compliant as they would be in a lab, we still saw benefits," he said. 'I think that was, for me, very powerful to see.'"
- "Fatigue was reduced by 25%."
- "Their feelings of positive emotions increased, and their feelings of negative emotions decreased."
- "Now that the study has concluded, the team at Columbia will continue to parse the data and begin the peer review process. Beyond that, Diaz said he is excited for the larger implications of frequent movement breaks on our health."
Commenting on the work, lead researcher Dr. Diaz shared: “What we know now is that for optimal health, you need to move regularly at work, in addition to a daily exercise routine,” Diaz continued “While that may sound impractical, our findings show that even small amounts of walking spread through the work day can significantly lower your risk of heart disease and other chronic illnesses.“
We offer kudos to NPR, Columbia University Medical Center, Dr. Diaz and the others who have earnestly assembled and conducted this work.
While this study and project are illuminating, it’s important to consider multiple studies about any topic. Fortunately, on this topic you will find many irrefutable studies confirming physiological and psychological benefits of breaking up prolonged static postures.
For smart employers, it’s all about productivity and the bottom line achieved through helping employees to share in the responsibility for a comfortable and healthy experience while working on their computers.
In this case, this project was one of several studies done in recent years in different locations around the world by top-tier organizations who have researched the important beneficial impacts of periodic movement while working, to break up prolonged static postures such as those involved with using computers for our work.