Sedentary Lifestyle

As you can probably guess, when I made the jump from “teacher” to “writer,” my life changed a lot. My writing time multiplied. My paycheck shrunk. Happiness increased. Stress levels plummeted. But one change that I didn’t really think about or prepare for?

The shiny new sedentary lifestyle.

Teaching is far from a sedentary activity. You’re on your feet from the minute your kiddos walk in the door until the minute they leave. You’re constantly walking between the white board, students’ desks, and the computer. You lead your class to lunch, specials, and assemblies. You stand outside to supervise recess. Sometimes you run out of your classroom to ask a co-worker a question, make an emergency copy, or (heaven forbid) use the restroom, and pray that you can run back before the phone rings, anyone vomits or bleeds, one kid punches another, or any other catastrophe breaks out. If your classroom isn’t on the ground floor, you can add stairs to your growing number of steps per day. Yes, teachers do get a lunch break and sometimes a planning period, but the lack of these sitting opportunities could be the topic of an entirely different blog on a different day!

Sometimes I would put on a teacher outfit in the morning and want to wear a really cute pair of heels to complement it. That always seemed like a good idea at the time, but I was usually barefoot shortly after the morning Pledge of Allegiance. At first my students were confused about why I would walk around without shoes. Eventually they caught on and would say, “Oh, you wore high heels today?” So, yeah. Teaching is not sedentary by any means.

Writing is just the opposite. I spend most of my days working at my laptop computer. I don’t have a desk, so I usually set up camp on my living room couch. Sometimes I’ll change things up and work at the kitchen table or at the library. (Yes, on extremely rare occasions I do work from my bed. What? It’s comfortable!)

When I’m especially engrossed in what I’m working on, hours will pass without moving, except perhaps to get a drink of water or go to the bathroom. (It’s so nice to be able to use the restroom whenever I want! It’s a former-teacher thing. See above.) I spend most of my day seated, and I can definitely tell a difference. My feet don’t hurt, but my back sometimes does. I’m not completely exhausted at the end of the day, but I also burn way less calories than I should.

This needs to change. I was going through one of my favorite websites today (www.dailyspark.com) and this picture caught my eye:

I thought to myself, why couldn’t I use a balance ball as a chair? I began reading the article and found that the author had some of the same complaints that I have. Strangely enough, she doesn’t actually mention using a ball for a chair, but she did offer helpful tips for those with a sedentary job:

• Stand up to stretch or walk every 30-60 minutes throughout the day. I’d probably have to set a timer or else I’d work right through the stretch break, but this could help.
• Work while standing. Use a high table or counter surface. I think our kitchen counter could work nicely!
• Plan some exercise both before and after work. I usually work out once a day, but it’s probably a good idea to get some activity twice a day to make up for the drastic amount of sitting I do. And since I set my own hours, it should be easy to incorporate.
• Stretch. A lot of good stretches can be found in the article .

The article and advice was good, but I was still interested in using a balance ball as a chair. The personal trainers at my gym use them at their computers, so it has to be a good idea, right? I did a little research and found that there are many reasons to replace a chair with a balance ball:

• Better posture and spine alignment.
• Improved balance.
• Improved circulation.
• A piece of exercise equipment is at your fingertips.
• Activated core muscles.
• More energy.
• Why wouldn’t you want to bounce around all day long…fun!!!

When I was teacher assisting during college, we had a 1st grader who had severe ADHD. Part of his IEP included sitting on a balance ball so that he could exert some extra energy. Cool, right? (If I remember correctly, the ball eventually became a distraction to the other students and was replaced with a squishy seat, but it was good while it lasted!)

Supposedly you can find a balance ball for $15 at Target, so I might check into one. I’ll let you know how it goes, as well as the other tips listed above.

In the meantime, advice for teachers: Enjoy some chocolate or a drink. Chances are good that you burned it off today, and chances are even better that you deserve it! =)

Sources:
http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=the_deskdefying_workout_plan
http://www.gearfire.net/10-reasons-to-use-an-exercise-ball-as-your-chair/
http://walking.about.com/cs/fitnesswalking/a/ballchair.htm

Source: http://oneyeartowrite.blogspot.com/2010/08/sedentary-lifestyle.html