Enough of a rigid office life

By nature, humans are not designed to sit for hours on a rigid chair in front of a desk. In the same way, it is not a plan of evolution that screen work is forcing people to remain in a motionless position for many hours a day. A healthy working environment includes these considerations and there are quite a few precautions that people can take. However, this does not solve the problem of a lack of exercise. You can adjust the chair to the ideal height and the desk accordingly. You can put the screen within a reasonable distance that helps to relieve the eyes, head and neck. You can even adapt the light according to your needs. Still, the body suffers from sitting for long periods of time.

A movable chair like the Arctic Team Spring Chair is ideal in such a case. It puts an end to rigid sitting, because sitting on this chair activates the muscles similarly to sitting on an exercise ball. Do not forget however to include relaxing breaks in your daily work. Stand up regularly to stretch your whole body and loosen the muscles.

Why is it harmful to sit too long? The problem relates with the spine. It has a negative effect on the function of the spine, on which we are particularly dependent. We can compare the spine itself to a gear system. All parts have to work well together, so that the spine can perform its great task: keeping our body in the desired position and sustaining that position. The parts of the spine include the vertebrae, intervertebral discs, muscles, ligaments and nerves. Excessive sitting and especially improper sitting has the consequence to put a false, one sided load on the intervertebral discs. Over time, this can lead to wear of the spine. Long sitting also often results in cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and obesity. Conversely, practising exercise in the office not only helps the body, but also mental performance and concentration.

There is more that you can do to improve your vitality, agility and fitness, besides regular exercise and muscle strengthening. The light and the air in the office also affects your well-being. Just look at how many hours you are spending in the office, and ask yourself if your body receives enough light and energy during the dark winter months. In those days, it is usually dark in the morning on the way to work and in the evening on the way home. A lack of daylight can disturb the function of our "internal clock" and affect the body negatively. The artificial light in the office is often not sufficient to compensate for this deficiency. However, there are bright light therapy lamps which provide 10,000 lux that you can integrate into your daily office life.

Other important factors for good health are a clean air and enough humidity. The heating in winter can dry out office air to a degree that the mucous membranes will also dry out. This increases your susceptibility to colds and the flu. In this case, humidifiers are very helpful. You can adjust them according to your needs. When it comes to reducing the risk of pollutants in the air, you can rely on air cleaners. Many of them are fit to deal with pollutants emitted by photocopying and printing machines, and many air cleaners are able to clean the air of several substances, including pollen, dust and cigarette smoke.

Now, many prerequisites for a healthy office life have already been provided. If you are still curious as to how you could bring more vitality into everyday office life, without disturbing the workflow, here are some more tips: Decide to take the stairs instead of the elevator. In many cases, you will arrive sooner than the elevator. Think about how to change your desktop environment, so that you will have to stand up more often: to fetch documents or office supplies, to throw something out or to make phone calls. If possible, stand up and walk around with every phone call. When it comes to staff meetings, you can suggest that all of the people stand instead of sit. Many of your co-workers would probably be grateful not have to sit for a certain period. If there is time enough, the lunch break is an ideal time to go for a walk. Moving your body out in the open can also bring you new ideas, which may increase your creativity and problem solving capacities.

Try to keep the health of your spine in mind even outside the office hours. You should pay attention to your sitting posture and movements while driving, lifting or carrying something and while gardening and doing housework - and especially when you are sitting. If you still have to wait for an Arctic Team Spring Chair, a seat wedge or an exercise ball, here are a few tips for proper seating on any chair:

Sit as much in an upright position as possible, so that the shoulder and pelvic girdle seem to be in line with each other.

The torso should form an angle of 100° to your thighs, which means that the thighs should be slightly directed towards the floor.

Put your legs hip-width apart. It is generally very unhealthy to put one leg above the other, because it negatively effects the blood flow.

The upper and lower legs form an angle of 90-100 °.

Lift the breastbone slightly forward and up, try to keep your head in a position as if it would be an extension of the spine. The head should not be lowered towards the chest.

Whenever possible, you can place your forearms on the arm holders of the chair or place your palms on your thighs.