By Deborah Bamisaye
Congrats Sis! I can see you’ve taken and digested the ‘Chair’ advice, hook, line and sinker. And now… (Why is he raising his hands now?) What?!!! Oh! Congrats too Bros! (Sorry, I mentioned only Sis, I forgot ‘male folks’ could be jealous, that’s on a lighter note though.) So once again, congratulations you’ll. Thank God you now, stand up often in order to stay more productive at work for the long term. Aren’t you wise? Of course you are! And you will always be… But I have a question for you – I don’t know how you’ll take it though, but because I am rooting for you, I will ask anyway. Now, here is my question: “You Left the Office, but Did You Leave the Chair?” Surprised? What if I told you that leaving your office at 5:00 p.m. does not necessarily mean that you have escaped the chair?
Welcome to the final part of our journey into the world of sitting.
In part 1, we discovered that the chair itself is not the enemy.
In part 2, we entered the modern office and discovered how deadlines, computers and long working hours can quietly turn sitting into a full-time occupation.
Today however, I want us to look beyond the office. Because there is something else we need to ask: What happens after work?
You may have stood up from your office chair, packed your bag, switched off your computer, and proudly walked out of the office. I applaud you for that, ‘Well done!’ But what happens next? You get into your car… and sit. Or perhaps you enter a bus… and sit. You get home, freshen up, eat your dinner, and then settle comfortably on the sofa to watch television, scroll through social media, chat on your phone, or catch up on your favourite programme. And guess what?
You sit… again. Before you know it, the office chair has simply changed its location!
The office chair may have been replaced by the car seat.
The car seat may have been replaced by the dining chair.
The dining chair may have been replaced by the sofa.
And the sofa may eventually be replaced by your bed.
So, although you proudly left the office at 5:00 p.m., one important question remains: Did You Really Leave the Chair? This is where many of us miss the point. We may have successfully reduced the amount of time we sit at work, yet unknowingly spend the rest of the day sitting somewhere else. The truth is that our bodies do not necessarily care whether we are sitting in an expensive executive chair, inside a car, on a bus, at the dining table, or on our favourite sofa. Sitting is still sitting.
The problem, therefore, is not only the chair in your office, it has to do with your sitting habit. What are you going to do about it?
The Second Shift of Sitting
Many people spend hours sitting at work and then spend several more hours sitting at home. The body does not say: “Oh, this is different. This is recreational sitting, so it doesn’t count!” Sis! Bros! – Sitting Is Still Sitting.
And that is where the problem becomes interesting.
You may have exercised in the morning.
You may have walked to the bus stop.
You may even have climbed the stairs at work.
But if the rest of the day is spent almost entirely sitting, your body still needs regular opportunities to move. This is why movement should not be treated as something that happens only during “exercise time.” movement belongs in the day.
Your Phone May Be the New Chair
Now, let’s talk about something that sits with us everywhere – our phones.
We carry them to the dining table.
We carry them to the sofa.
We carry them into meetings.
We carry them into bed.
And sometimes, we don’t even realize how long we have been sitting because we are too busy watching a screen. One video becomes three.
One message becomes a conversation.
One quick check becomes thirty minutes.
Then you suddenly look up and wonder: “When did all this time pass?”
Your phone did not steal the time. You gave it away…one scroll at a time.
And while your attention was busy travelling across the screen, your body was quietly remaining in one position.
The Body Keeps Score
The human body needs movement, not necessarily an expensive gym membership.
Not necessarily complicated equipment. Not necessarily an hour-long workout every day.
Sometimes it begins with something much simpler. Like – stand up, walk around, stretch, change position, do a household chore, take the stairs when appropriate, walk while talking on the phone, get up and refill your water. Dance to a song, play with your children; walk around the compound.
The goal is not to turn every moment of your life into an exercise session. The goal is to stop allowing stillness to occupy every free moment.
Try This Tonight
When you get home today, do something unusual. Before you settle into your favourite chair, ask yourself: “Have I moved enough today?” Not: “Have I worked enough?” Not: “Have I answered all my messages?” Not: “Have I watched my programme?” Ask: “Have I moved enough?” Then do something about the answer. If you have been sitting for hours, stand up. If your body feels stiff, gently stretch.
If you have been staring at a screen all evening, look away and move around. If you have been sitting while talking on the phone, walk while you talk. Small interruptions to long periods of sitting can become powerful habits when repeated consistently.
Here Is Your Challenge
For the next seven days, conduct a simple Chair Audit. Every time you realize you have been sitting for a long stretch, ask yourself: “Do I really need to remain here?” If the answer is no… GET UP and take a WALK! Then return to your chair if you need it.
You don’t have to hate your chair. Your chair is designed to support your body. It was never designed to replace movement.
And perhaps that is the biggest lesson from our three-part journey. The problem was never the chair. It was what happened when the chair became a lifestyle.
So, before you finish reading this, look around you. Are you sitting? If you are, and you have been there for a while… this is your sign: stand up and move then come back if you need to, and tomorrow, do it again. Your health is not built in one dramatic moment, it is built quietly – in the little choices you make every day.
One Last Thing as We Draw the Curtains on this Today’s Episode
I promised you a journey and we have discovered that work can turn sitting into an occupation. The home also has its own sitting challenges.
And perhaps the most important question is no longer: “Is my chair stealing my health?”
The question is: “What am I doing to keep my health from being stolen?”
Your chair is waiting.
Your sofa is waiting.
Your phone is waiting.
But your body is waiting too.
So, please… don’t just sit there.
MOVE!
And does your chair get lonely? Let it; it will survive.
Let’s meet here the next time, until then – KEEP MOVING!
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