The Impact of Sitting All Day – Part 7
There is a wide range of American start up companies, creating technology solutions to combat the new “sitting disease”. In previous posts I have discussed in the impact of sitting all day
- the impact on muscles (in part 1)
- the general impact on the body (in part 2)
- the impact on your heart and the increase risk of cardiovascular disease (in part 3)
- the increased risk of certain cancers (in part 4)
In my post, “Taking a Break“, I explored the reasons for taking a break and looked at the latest research on the length of break you need to take and the frequency. In my last blog post, “Get Moving” I looked at how you can move while working. In this post I want to review the technology solutions that are out there.
Activity Trackers
Most of the technology solutions currently available are wearable activity trackers. These products are basically advanced sensors that come embedded inside of bracelets or clips that hook onto your clothing. They measure your daily activity (steps taken and calories burned), sleep, and through an associated app, diet. Below I list some of the common trackers.
- 1. Apple Watch
Everyone knows that Apple is about to launch the Apple Watch which will have a plethora of health and fitness functionalities. However the Apple Watch heavily relies on the iPhone to function and is not really considered a standalone device. But I want to focus on one interesting feature which is that ten minutes before each hour, the Apple Watch taps on their arms as an alert to ecourage you to stay active or just simply stand up. I can see this being essential for people who want to stay active but find they lose track of time when they work.
- 2. Jawbone UP
The company’s wearable activity tracker, Jawbone UP includes a step counter, sleep tracker and an idle alert, which offers reminders to users by buzzing if they are inactive. What is neat about Jawbone is that it links to your calendar from your iPhone and see what your schedule is with meetings and we can say — rather than buzzing you during the middle of your board meeting — we can actually wait until the end and give you some insight.
- 3. Nike+ Fuelband
What is good about the Nike+ Fuelband activity tracker is that lets you set an activity goal, you can press a button on an LED screen to check your progress, and displays a green light when you have achieved your goal. However it can be inaccurate if for some reason you happen to move your hands swiftly throughout the day.
- 4. Fitbit One
Fitbit One is the best holistic tracking of activity, diet and sleep and is good value compared to some of the other activity trackers. The app creates graphs, charts and tools based on your data and lets you easily log food, water, weight, food plans and more. It is especially good for women as you can clip it in the center of your bra, rather than trying to blend in a wrist based activity tracker with your outfit.
Applications
“I’ll help you unclog your mind and uncramp your body”, is the promise of HotSeat health app that turns short breaks into meaningful activity through nudges and social accountability. What I like about this application is that it allows you to create competition – which are always very motivational!
Darma – The Hitech Cushion
Digital health upstart Darma have developed a cushion that aims to help people take control of their sitting habits. It helps you remember to maintain good posture when sitting down for long periods of time. The cushion contains one millimeter-thick fiber optic sensors that sense the user’s movements. The pillow also has embedded sensors that detect heart rate, stress level, and respiration. All of this information is sent to a companion app on the user’s smartphone. The app can then track a user’s stress level, sitting time, and posture and try to motivate users to get up every now and then. It will also alert users when they’ve slipped into a bad position and explain how to correct their posture. If users are feeling back pain, the app can guide them through stretches that might help relieve it. To me this more directly provides relevant information to help my clients than some of the more wearable technology solutions. I am looking forward to its launch later this year, until then there is always massage!
Related Posts
What causes muscle cramps?
Unfortunately no one totally understands what causes muscle cramps. Most authorities agree that in skeletal muscles they are frequently caused by the hyper-excitability of the nerves that stimulate muscles. Rather than thinking of a single cause of muscle cramps, I find it more helpful to think in terms of risk factors. A field study of 433 Ironman triathletes suggest that those so cramped had exercised harder than usual, had a family history of cramping and had previous tension or ligament damage. Because muscle cramps often occur due to muscle fatigue the problem may be related to nerve malfunction creates an imbalance between muscle excitation and inhibition which prevents the muscle from relaxing. (see Schwellnus et al 2004). In summary although muscle cramps are likely to be related to overexertion there are other contribution factors. References Shang G, Collins M and Schwellnus M (2001). Factors associated with self-reported history of exercise associated muscle cramps in Ironman Triathletes: A case-control study, The Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine 21(3): p204-210 Schwellnus MP, Nicol J, Laubscher R et al (2004). Serum electrolyte concentrations and hydration status are not associated with exercise associated muscle cramping in distance runners, British Journal of Sports Medicine 38(4): p488-492
Can a cup of cocoa a day help you?
The causes of mental and physical fatigue experienced by people with MS are complex, and likely to include neural, inflammatory, metabolic, and psychological factors. None of the currently available approaches offers long term relief, say the researchers. Previous research suggests that dark chocolate, containing between 70 and 85 per cent cocoa solids, is associated with an improvement in subjectively assessed fatigue in people with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME). Cocoa, like dark chocolate, is rich in flavonoids––substances found abundantly in fruit and vegetables and associated with anti-inflammatory properties. This prompted the researchers to see if it might also be worth exploring Cocoa potential in helping to tackle the fatigue associated with MS. They randomly assigned 40 adults recently diagnosed with the relapsing remitting form of MS and fatigue to drink a cup of either high flavonoid cocoa powder mixed with heated rice milk (19) or a low flavonoid version (21) every day for six weeks. Participants were instructed to wait 30 minutes before taking any prescribed medication or eating or drinking anything else, but otherwise to stick to their usual diet. Fatigue and fatigability–the speed with which mental and physical fatigue set in–were formally assessed before the start, at the mid-point, and at the end of the trial. And participants also subjectively rated their fatigue on a scale of 1 to 10, at 10.00, 15.00, and 20.00 hours each day, and monitored their activity with a pedometer. After six weeks there was a small improvement in fatigue in 11 of those drinking high flavonoid cocoa compared with eight of those drinking the low flavonoid version. Those drinking the high flavonoid version showed a 45 per cent improvement in subjectively assessed fatigue and an 80 per cent improvement in walking speed. Although not objectively measured, pain symptoms also improved more in the high flavonoid group. If the findings are confirmed in larger studies, it may offer a simple dietary approach to a persistent and hard to treat symptom, which affects nine out of 10 people with MS, suggest the researchers. Reference https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/90/5/507
Can tackling the big questions in life make you less depressed and anxious?
Mixed anxiety & depression is the most common mental disorder in Britain,and it estimates to cause one fifth of days off from work. Well according to researches if you prepared to tackle big questions in life e.g.
- Is there a God?
- Does life have a purpose?
