Office work can be dangerous. Posture expert Dr Steven Weiniger says the human body was not made to sit at a desk for long periods of time. That’s why I quite often have a lie down.
Of course, I’m in the privileged position of working from home and my office is just down the corridor from my bedroom.
It’s a bit more difficult if you share an office with 50 other people and you take a kip under the desk.
The good doctor says it’s critical that employers recognise the importance of posture training exercises because, when people spend most of their lives sitting, they forget many of the subtle ways their body should be able to move.
“Oo-er. What’s a foot?”
“It’s that dangly thing on the end of your leg. Put one in front of the other and you can walk.”
“I don’t think I can do anything as complicated as that.”
“You’ll miss the pub, then.”
“Ah yes. Memory is returning.”
Dr Weiniger says inactivity and prolonged sitting can foster mental health conditions and depression. So switch off the TV and forget about Downton and Corra and get out on a five mile walk.
Obviously exercise is good for you, as are breaks from the office routine. It’s just that I can’t resist poking fun at American experts who turn everything into an ology when actually, common sense works just as well.
Dr Weiniger has written a book called Stand Taller Live Longer: An Anti-Ageing Strategy. Which is a bit rough on vertically challenged folk like me. I’m standing as tall as I can and I’m still on the short side. How long have I got left?
