We have some exciting news! The BeUpstanding™ Team received a commendation award for collaborators of the year from the University of Queensland in the Faculty of Medicine. We are honoured that our hard work over the past year has been reconginised! We could not have done it without the participation and engagement of workplace champions and the support from our incredible industry partners (VicHealh, Queensland Office of Industrial Relations, Safe Work Australia, Heart Foundation / HeathierWorkplaceWA, and Comcare). We have been working hard and have exciting things planned in 2018 that we cannot wait to share with you! To be one of the first to know, sign up to our newsletter (at the bottom of this page). Pictured are just some of our Outstanding Upstanding team. Image (Left to right): Genevieve Maher, Jennifer Warren, Brianna Fjeldsoe, Ana Goode (Program Translation Leader), Genevieve Healy (Principal Investigator), Anne Bannister, Sheleigh Lawler.
The Lighter Side of LiveLighter – Sit Less with Damian Callinan
This short video by LiveLighter had us laughing. Check out comedian Damian Callinan tips to get staff moving!
Policies relating to occupational sedentary behaviour?
Your workplace is likely to have policies regarding leave, fire safety, employment conditions, etc. etc. but what about sedentary work? Dr Pieter Coenen led a qualitative review of existing national and international occupational safety and health policies relating to occupational sedentary behaviour. He concluded that although there were no occupational authority policies that focused specifically on sedentary behaviour, there were a relevant aspects of existing policies that could be modified to address occupational sedentary behaviour. Do you have a policy addressing occupational sitting in your workplace? Please share your story with us.
Reduce the health risks of sedentary work
Sedentary work is a growing health and safety concern across the globe. This article is worth a read from the Department of Health and Human Services in the USA. Workplace Solutions From the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety
What is sedentary behaviour and how common is it?
Sedentary behaviour refers to any waking activity characterised by low energy expenditure and a sitting or reclining posture. Common sedentary behaviours include sitting while watching television, driving a car or working at your computer. In Australian office workplaces, sitting behaviour is so common that over three-quarters of the work day is spent sitting, with much of this sitting time accrued in long, unbroken bouts of 30 minutes or more.Further, workplace sitting is the largest contributor to an office worker’s overall daily sitting time. We at BeUpstanding™ can see the potential in reducing sitting in Australian workplaces to improve health outcomes, as well as overall wellbeing, for a healthier, happier workforce.
Why the best posture is the next posture!
Of course some sitting is ok – we all need to have a rest – but sitting for long periods of time without getting up may be particularly bad for our health. Regularly changing your posture between sitting, standing and moving is the key: achieving this is the primary aim of BeUpstanding™. Aim to change your posture every 30 minutes.
What happens when we sit for too long?
When you sit you are spending very little energy and your large postural muscles aren’t working very hard. This means your metabolism starts to slow down which can lead to poor health outcomes in both the short and long term. Too much sitting has been linked to an increased number of musculoskeletal conditions, as well as increased risk of overweight or obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, some cancers and premature death. Time to stand up?
Consider your activity across the whole day
It is well recognised that doing regular exercise has several benefits for your physical and mental health. We should all be aiming to meet physical activity guidelines of at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each day. However, for most adults, exercise constitutes only a small proportion of the day – it is also important to think about the rest of the day. If you spend most of the rest of the time sitting, you may be increasing your risk for poor health. Time to stand up?