Is Your Desk Killing You?
Many of us can get involved with writing or doing a project at a desk and lose track of time. Sometimes, getting into a flow can be helpful to a creative process. Sometimes, however, we can get stuck, frustrated, or find ourselves unable to concentrate.
When we reach this point, it can be a reminder for us to take a break, but not necessarily another cup of coffee or a sit-in-your-chair candy bar.
The Movement Connection
Studies indicate that as we evolved, it was movement that caused our brains to step up to the challenges presented and grow larger and more complex. Activation of postural muscles would have evolved as we made the move toward being bipedal, and we had to perceive our environment differently. New motor skills and perceptual skills would have helped create new cognitive connections.
This makes sense when you consider recent developments in brain mapping and scanning. The cerebellum, the area of the brain long associated with movement, balance, and spatial perception, has now been shown to be necessary for higher cognitive functions like complex decision-making and memory.
The concept of “embodied cognition” has been applied to the cerebellum-higher function axis. Using motor skills causes us to need a continuous cognitive interaction with our environment. Otherwise, we would not get very far! Action creates feedback that links movement to thought.
Sitting vs. Standing
Recent developments in desks have enabled many of us to stand up while working. Research has found some good reasons to do more standing instead of sitting at a conventional desk or being sedentary in general. Prolonged sitting has risks. They include contributing to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Many are quick to point out that these chronic conditions can lead to early death.
Some research has focused specifically on school-age children, especially since, now, many physical education programs have been dropped, and children often spend hours playing video games or focusing on their phones. It has even been implied that lack of physical activity may be partly to blame for the recent rise in learning disabilities.
Research involving children has shown again and again that adding activity helps children focus, solve problems better and faster, remember subject material better, and be better at organising thoughts into writing.
Other research has been specific to giving children more opportunities to stand up at school. One study was able to track changes in brain activation when standing desks were introduced for several hours a day. Results showed that students’ brains were indeed more engaged. This engagement showed up as better performance when tested on academic subjects.
The Physiology of It: Examples
Our bodies are designed to move. When we do, there are several over-arching body functions that tend to make our lives better and healthier.
Circulation. When we stand up, and particularly when we move around, our blood supply gets circulated more quickly and efficiently, getting to previously sluggish areas. In addition, regular exercise actually causes our bodies to create new capillaries, which enables more oxygen and nutrients to get to our cells for energy.
That better circulation includes our brain. Many studies show that a life that includes regular physical activity helps to mitigate the onset or the progression of dementia or Alzheimer’s as we get older.
The extra blood circulation and the activity itself leads to greater brain plasticity. Our brains are capable of growing and changing throughout our lives. More stimulation, including movement, can create new, vibrant connections for us.
Glucose utilisation. One reason that being sedentary is so dangerous is that our bodies cannot take up energy-giving glucose into our cells if our muscles aren’t moving. Who among us hasn’t craved a quick sugar hit when we are fatigued?
When this happens, our bodies may be telling us that we are hungry and need some fuel. On the other hand, our body (especially our brain) may be telling us that the fuel we have on board is not being delivered to our brains and bodies.
When we eat, we change a lot of that food into glucose that gets circulated around our bodies to use as fuel. Our brains are glucose burners extraordinaire. They gobble up 20% of the energy used by our bodies, even though they make up a mere 2 percent of our body mass. Glucose is the preferred fuel of our brain. When our muscles move, glucose gets circulated to our muscles and brains, and it gets taken up into our cells. We can then move better and think better.
How Much Standing and Moving Is Enough?
As we said, studies show that standing up will give your cognition a boost. It also burns more calories than sitting. When you stand up, your posture most likely changes for the better. Good posture is another way to improve circulation and alertness.
Moving around can make things even better. But how much movement?
Research tells us that multiple bouts of 5 or 10 minutes of movement are better for us than a solid hour of workout at a gym after sitting all day. It turns out that hours of being sedentary can disrupt your metabolism to the extent that an hour of exercise is not enough to completely counteract it.
That makes sense, especially when you’re looking to keep your mind fresh and focused while spending several hours at a desk.
In a Nutshell
Just standing up can make a difference. Standing up and moving for 5-10 minutes every hour is even better. Walking from room to room, around chairs and people, and navigating some hallways and flights of stairs will require greater blood circulation that will deliver glucose to your muscles and brain.
You can add in several exercises that involve multiple movements. This will necessitate focus on the coordination of your muscles. Coordinating your muscles as you switch from one movement to the next will provide greater complexity for your brain to contend with.
All of these activities will stimulate better circulation, glucose delivery, and cognitive processes. Your brain will translate that into better problem-solving, memory, decision-making, and attention.