Spending much more than about 20 minutes sitting still leads to postural collapse and is generally bad for you. It has been said that "Sitting is the new smoking" because it has been associated with a host of long-term health problems. Unlike smoking, authorities have been telling you to sit still all your life, even when you wanted naturally to wriggle and move when you were a small child in school, learning the habits that were expected of you in the modern workplace. By now, you are probably very used to sitting still and find yourself metaphorically chained to a computer for most of the day.
It's a familiar story - you begin to stiffen up, feel lousy, and your concentration wanders. Yet every time you think about wandering off for a quick walk or a trip to the gym, you feel hungry eyes fixed on your study space, and then you find yourself settling back down for another seated stint. At busy times of year, it can also feel like getting up and walking around means giving up your study space, and that's not something anyone wants to do.
Happily, there are things you can do to reawaken body and mind without even getting up. That's not to say that you shouldn't get up - stirring the blood and walking around regularly definitely helps - but you can stretch and flex, stimulate the body and reawaken the mind more often. Just make sure you read these top tips for stretching safely from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety and work within the limits of your body as you find it today. There are no prizes for overdoing things and pulling a muscle!
Checking you are sitting comfortably is the first step to healthy study and work - and it's amazing how many people sit with poor posture, particularly when using a laptop computer. Laptops were never intended for prolonged use and are often too low down, encouraging a slouching, stooped or hunched posture that can result in tension, neck and back pain. Use one of our ergonomic docking stations so you can enjoy a full curved screen monitor, keyboard and mouse as well as your laptop. It's still worth grabbing a few books and propping up your laptop to a more comfortable height.
So take a stretch break now and see how much better it makes you feel!