Today@Dal

David Westwood felt like he wasn’t living up to some of the key ideas he was bringing up in the classroom.

“I’m a kinesiology professor, and I teach physical activity concepts in my first year class,” he explains. “Through doing that, I came to realize how little I was practicing what I preach: I’m always saying that sedentary behaviour is a huge risk factor that’s easily avoided, yet I spent 90 per cent of my day sitting at my computer.”

So he set out to make changes — starting with his workspace.

David now works at standing desk, not because he has any sort of back problems but to stay more active and avoid sitting too much during the day. Because the standing desk he found online was reasonably affordable (an add-on, not a completely new workspace), his director supported the purchase. It allows him to work standing or sitting, depending on the scenario.

“It took a little adjusting, in terms of getting the keyboard and monitor height positioned, finding the right special layout. But now that I’ve got it right, it’s actually much more comfortable.

“In fact, that’s the number one thing people ask: ‘Doesn’t it hurt your back? Doesn’t it hurt your feet?’ And the answer is no: it hurts me a lot less than sitting does. When I’m standing, it’s easy to shift your weight around, let your arms out. It’s very comfortable.”

What do others think of the desk?

“Everybody thinks it’s pretty cool. They ask about cost, of course, and how it was paid for, but they want to try it out. Everybody’s been interested; they may not all want to get one, but they want to learn more.”

David has been trying to adopt similar ideas in other aspects of his work. For example, he’s hosting more “walking meetings” with grad students, heading out around campus rather than staying put. He says it actually makes meetings more memorable and efficient: people get down to business more quickly and by changing walking routes, it’s easier to remember particular details by associating them with certain walks.

“Being sedentary is a risk factor for poor health. Eliminating one hour of sitting time by standing is as good as exercising for an hour to make up for the time you spend sedentary. It makes a big difference.”

Learn more about working healthy at work at the Healthy Dalhousie website.