Deskbound | Kelly Starrett | Talks at Google

I realize you're interested in hearing from others dealing with the same problem; I, myself, am not, however, I am extremely interested in our general health as deskbound hackers and would like to offer some thoughts that may prove helpful: 1. Reduce optional sitting. Sitting for extended periods of time compromises our musculoskeletal system and in particular our spinal health. When we sit, the muscles in our lower body basically turn off leaving only our core to support our spine which is not sustainable. We eventually collapse into poor posture with our shoulders rounding forward and hips rounding backward putting the body into a c-shape. This position adds a ton of extra pressure on our vertebrae which can lead to various amounts of pain. Plus, the more we sit the less we move; and we need to move to keep muscles engaged and blood circulating. 2. When you do sit, choose the right chair, and sit properly. The ideal chair is one with a wide square seat made of wood or metal. It may sound uncomfortable, but that's the point; the goal is to encourage movement, a chair shouldn't encourage you to sit all day but to simply give you a place to temporarily rest. The square shape allows you to sit along the edge without sliding off which makes it easier to maintain a neutral upright position. And the hard surface allows for great mechanical feedback; you get uncomfortable which reminds you to move. Before you even sit, engage your core to stabilize your spine, then sit without coll

I've been a software engineer for over 15 years and so have been working at a desk for just as long. For the first few years I never thought twice about it, just sat all day long, no big deal. Eventually that started to catch up with me and my health began to noticeably decline. I eventually made a conscious effort to combat the sedentary nature of knowledge work and have since seen significant improvements in my health, both physically and mentally. I now have this dichotomous relationship with computers: on one hand I love programming but on the other I can't stand being sedentary and I don't like that the default mode for computer work is sitting at a desk completely stationary. So I'm always looking for the most effective way to maintain my well-being while also working at a desk all day and I've been writing about it on my blog. It's rough at the moment but am actively working to improve the content and quality; but I think this article in particular may be of interest: link . I think there are the obvious answers like: go for walks, go to the gym, do active things, etc. I'm 100% for all of those, but for the most part you can't really do any of them while working. But movement is the key and so I think the most important thing you can do at your workspace is to create a movement-rich environment where you are constantly able to shift positions and fidget. Ideally get a standing desk; this sets the foundation... you'll have a difficult time being sedentary while you're