Sitting on the Job

Are there any critters other than humans that sit on anything resembling a chair or a stool? Perhaps chimps trained to stage act or go to outer space are instructed for our benefit and their alleged safety but there is no evidence that sitting on a chair is an evolutionary milestone. Early cavemen and women cobbled up some form of bench likely more to get their butts off the cold and wet ground than offer an early stone age ergonomic aide.

Four legged chairs were not in common usage until the 1500’s. Before that chairs elevated royalty and such to sit raised above the rabble.
In Asian and native Eskimo culture squatting is a way of life. Low stools are squatting aides, not so much training for later sitting postures.

Cultures and societies that squat rather than sit demonstrate a far lower prevalence of back pain than those that sit in chairs. Of course those squatting cultures have a vastly different view of most things that the sitters have, both literally and figuratively. Squatting peoples may not have squadrons of orthopedic surgeons nearby nor the same prevalence of elimination difficulties as civilized sitting folks.

Malasana is a full, butt down, flat-footed yoga posture. Highly recommended for improving organ function, bowel and bladder function, support for pregnant women. Rarely seen in the gym or any trendy places where such a demonstration of hip opening would be deemed, at the very least, socially incorrect.

Back to sitting...literally. It seems our evolutionary cleverness has designed a device that has been woven deeply into our history, culture, design and daily use as to be indispensable and yet is potentially a tool for early death. Early death, really?!

Peer reviewed studies have revealed that those individuals who are required to sit for long uninterrupted periods suffer from a constellation of ailments; decreased metabolic function, increase in belly fat deposition, decreased vascular health, decreased HDL (the good stuff), decreased insulin sensitivity hence a step towards diabetes, chronic spine pains et al. All or any of that can take large chunks of time and quality of life off of ones lifespan.

•  We simply sit too much at one time for our own good health.
•  Any antidote? For a while it was thought the only antidote was not to sit so long. Vigorous exercise, even daily, was not shown to have any effect what so ever on those who sit long term. Nor were ergonomic chairs, balance chairs, gym balls a great help other than to the manufacturer. No pollution credits, no balances, no trade-ins...just don’t sit so long.
  
  

Recent studies have found some relief. Every 20 minutes without fail, get up and walk about for no less than a few minutes. Even better wave ones arms above ones head. Be more chimp like.
Standing work stations, slow treadmill work stations are being discovered to elicit equally disastrous effects as long term sitting.

If we want our brains, which seem evolutionarily more evolved than our sitting capacity, to work clearly and efficiently we must respect our slower evolution to endure sitting.

Pick your battle...