Sitting is killing you! Maybe.

A very useful infographic on the dangers of sitting, here:

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-2420/Sitting-Is-Killing-You-Infographic.html

and a BBC piece on the same topic:

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-32069698

Vox.com chimes in:

http://www.vox.com/2014/7/2/5862026/sitting-vs-standing-health-risks-dangers

and the New York Times, from 2011:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17sitting-t.html

The studies cited in these reports may be overturned or reinterpreted, as studies often are, but it seems clear that standing up every 20-30 minutes, even briefly, is simple good sense. If your school is forward-thinking on this issue, it will have at least some stand-up desks with high stools or chairs, so that students can alternately stand and sit as they like without disrupting the class in any way. If your school has no such desks, talk with your teachers and your principal and see what they say. With or without your school’s support, make a point of moving and changing positions throughout your day. You will feel better, and your brain will work better, if your body is kept in the best possible condition.

Author: Eric MacKnight

I have been teaching English since 1980 in the United States, Morocco, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, The Netherlands, and China. Good Habits, Good Students is my first book.

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