A sedentary lifestyle is often blamed for much of what is wrong in public health. The way we live and work today has been called out as a major cause of obesity, musculoskeletal issues and even certain negative effects upon our mental health. It’s commonly advised that if you want to avoid falling into the trap of sitting too much, you should favour jobs and hobbies which keep you on your feet.
It’s not bad advice, for sure. However, we should beware an extreme level of concentration on “too much sitting” and an obsession with the appearance of working hard. Standing for too long can do you as much harm as sitting, and if your job calls on you to remain upright for long periods of time, it’s important to know how to avoid the harms that this can cause.
Take care of your feet
It’s considered good for your health to spend a lot of time walking around, but this needs to be balanced against the importance of keeping your feet in fine enough fettle to keep supporting you. If you’re working in hospitality, this can be difficult, as you are expected to spend hours on your feet in shoes designed more for style than for comfort. It’s worth researching treatments for plantar fasciitis if you’re already experiencing that tell-tale heel pain. However, you should also be assisted by your bosses in finding a way to limit the time you spend upright – it’s not sustainable over a period of longer than two hours.
Don’t stand in one place too long
The invention of the “standing desk” was hailed as a way to ensure that people who worked in an office could avoid the harms caused by sitting for too long. However, this mode of working, or any activity that involves standing still for prolonged periods, can be detrimental to your health. The muscles of the body, particularly those in your legs, back and neck, will not receive adequate blood flow, and your joints will also suffer from being locked in place for too long. It is essential to get some time to walk around and stretch your limbs. Similarly, too long spent kneeling can overload both muscles and joints.
Proper break times are essential
It has regrettably become fashionable to work longer hours, skip meals and show how prepared you are to “grind” for a dollar. This hustle culture can be infectious, and nobody wants to be seen as the weak one who goes home right on time or takes breaks while others work on. If your work involves spending time on your feet, you need to be taking breaks and you should be placing limits on your time spent working in a day. Sit to eat a healthy meal at lunchtime, drink water, use the toilet as and when you need it, and call a halt to the day after you’ve been working for 8-10 hours. Too long spent on the job will lead to injury, and when that happens stopping won’t be a choice, it’ll be forced on you.