Digital world – Stand up in 2017

After working digitally for the past decade, while not exactly a poster girl, I’ve evolved to my environment. I confess to conferencing into meetings with my slippers on, just for kicks, but otherwise I’ve adapted to treat my home office like an OSH-certified workplace.

Some of it was forced after realising that limbs and livelihood would suffer if I overdid it. As your own boss, there’s no-one else to blame, do your work or pay for your sick days.

Some of it was a lifestyle choice, when serendipitously a friend started a business making a cardboard stand-up Meerkat Desk and convinced me of the benefits of standing at work. They include:

Increased energy: Standing up and small movements promotes better blood circulation which improves your mood and energy.

Burn while you earn: Standing increases your metabolism and heart rate, and studies have shown that it can also suppress appetite.

Work to live: Sedentary lifestyles are associated with heart disease and cancer.

Avoid the afternoon slump: Your body was built to move. Sitting with curved backs and slumped shoulders isn’t good for your spine or muscles, arteries or blood flow.

Improve productivity: Lengthy periods of sitting reduce blood flow and oxygen entering your bloodstream through your lungs – your brain requires these to be alert.

If you’ve been reading this on your computer, it’s time to stand up and move around!

Remember, even if we are getting digital, our bodies have 360 joints and 700 skeletal muscles to enable easy, fluid motion and to stand up straight against the pull of gravity. We were built to get physical – as this video explains.

Giveaway: We have two Meerkat Cardboard Desks to giveaway. Stands aren’t included. To go into the draw comment below, message us on Facebook or email editor@localmatters.co.nz with the subject line Stand Up. Competition closes February 10.