Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by supersrdjan 547 days ago
It appears that the problem is not in sitting too much, but rather in sitting in chairs specifically. Apparently, hunter-gatherer people also spend about 10 hours a day sitting. But they sit on the ground. Or kneel or squat. And they don't have the issues we get from sitting too much:

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1911868117

So... the end-game of ergonomic chairs might be no chair at all.
1 comments
vladvasiliu 547 days ago
Given the tables in the results section, it would seem that the people in the study don't have long periods where they don't move. "average sedentary bout lengths" hover between 15 and 20 minutes.

So the problem with "sitting in chairs specifically" is probably not the chair, but the fact that the chair facilitates longer "sedentary bout lengths". If this is correct, then the commenter suggesting to get up and move every so often is probably on point.

link
supersrdjan 547 days ago
Makes sense. That said, fidgeting and moving around is spontaneous when on the floor, you don’t have to be reminded to do it. Also, no chair is cheaper than an expensive chair.
link
vladvasiliu 547 days ago
> fidgeting and moving around is spontaneous when on the floor, you don’t have to be reminded to do it

Indeed, it's actually what prompted me to go look over the document.

I remember, as a kid, when out and about and before getting into the habit of sitting in a chair all day every day, I would sit on the floor or on random objects, like stones or tree trunks in the countryside. I wouldn't be able to sit still for long periods of time and would need to at least change positions.

Whereas now, in my "ergonomic chair", I can sit for more than one hour at a time with minimal, if any, changes in position. Ditto for my couch (which wasn't marketed as "ergonomic" in any way).

That being said, I've tried using a computer in other positions, like putting the laptop on a coffee table and squatting or sitting on the floor in front of it, or having it rest on my thies while squatting. It gets tiring very quickly, especially in the shoulders and neck area.

So, in my case, what seems to work best is to get up regularly and walk around the room for a bit.

link