Getting restless legs at lay down time?
Well, maybe it’s because you’re not standing on them enough when you’re awake.
Indeed, according to studies done on RLS (which either stands for Restless Leg Syndrome or Relentlessly Lamentable Sleeplessness; pretty sure it’s the former, though technically both apply), sedentary lifestyles may be to blame. We sit to drive. We sit for meetings. Most of us sit at a computer for work. And, aside from the fact that this’s all no bueno for our upper body posture, it also makes for a weakened core, and contributes to that blood sugar imbalance we all get when we wolf down breakfast, plop down in a swivel seat, and fail to expend the consumed energy for anything. All of this stuff, they say, throws your body machine outta equilibrium – making for a restless attempt to rest later on. And it makes sense. If you’re spending the whole day immobile, your body’s going to be sending you WTF signals later on. Sure, your brain might be taxed, but you’ve been physically lazy all day long. And the flesh ship you inhabit demands a release. Which is why your legs keep kicking like a junkie in the throes of withdrawal.
The fix for this desk jockey induced torpor?
Why, a standing desk, of course.
(Ah, look at that face. She must be reading my website. That or standing’s just *really* suiting her.)
And, when I heard this, it reminded me of this man I see with a laptop every day at Starbucks.
The dude looks about my age. Always appears as if he’s just come from the gym. And… he always stands at his computer. I finally asked him about it the other day, and he said it feels so much better than sitting. And the dude’s not wrong. While it’s not exactly a laptop on a treadmill, it’s been shown that even just remaining upright while you type can help keep your body functioning optimally. With your core engaged and your posture properly in place, there’s none of that strain and tightness happening later that goes hand in hand with stress level increases – which we all know can make sleep impossible. (Also, I’ve found it to reduce my technology induced ADHD significantly – when you’re standing, you’re less likely to give into a browser full’a tabbed out memes and media for socializing.) But the work time benefit to standing’s got legs to it. ’cause the average standing office worker burns about a couple hundred more calories than their buddies who’re doing biznizz from their bums.
(Example. To calculate yours, click here.)
And while that’s great on a fitness level, it also mean a good rest for you.
’cause your gams’ll feel satisfied tonight when your one gym sesh from the A.M. didn’t feel like enough.
As for me? I’ve come across a partial solution to this organically. I say partial ’cause it hasn’t been enough thus far. See, I work part time on my feet at a clinic all day and part of the time, I’m sharing informational gems like this with you. The other part, I spend running to burn off those ingested calories. So, you’d think that’d be enough, right? Wrong. ’cause up till having that chat with my Starbuckian neighbor and encountering a couple articles on the matter, my routine could’ve stood a few improvements. I was having so much trouble going from writing from my rump to running on a trail. Stretching took forever. It felt like coming out of a coma. Every effort to limber up had me sure I had some slow onset of Tetanus transpiring within me. So I decided to give my ‘bucks buddy’s routine a try. And, after a single morning of standing to manifest my literary sorcery, my stems stopped suffering their usual whatever-the opposite-of-Soul-Cycle is that night. Just sweet, subconscious release. Thus, I’m definitely planning to make this a more permanent practice. That said, I still don’t believe everyone’s gotta go out and get a standing desk in order to do this. Espesh if you’re an at-home writer like myself. Just use a high counter or coffee table.
There’s no need to waste your money.
Especially when you’ll need it to loiter later at Starbucks while chicks ask you about your standing habits.