Monday, July 16, 2012

This Is Not The Sort of Dangerous Writing I Meant

Apparently, the writing life is hazardous to your health. According to an article I read a while back in The Washington Post, sitting for 11 hours a day or more for people aged 45 or older (that would be ME!)  led to an increased risk of death (from all causes) by about 40 percent over four years, compared to the risk of death in people who sat just four to eight hours a day, the study found.

I'm a champion sitter. I sit to write, blog, tweet, Facebook, write more, read, eat, watch tennis, watch the Olympics, and write still more. Speaking of the Olympics, I'm sure I'd make the U.S. Olympic team for synchronized sitting.

What to do? I guess I'll have to read on a treadmill, eat on my feet, and actually play tennis instead of practicing my armchair backhand. But all this alarum over sitting has gotten me into such a tizzy that I'm decamping on vacation for two weeks. I'll be headed to Holden Village, high in the Washington State Cascades. There won't be blogs and tweets there--and I may very well get in a bit of hiking.

But keep my seat warm for my Olympic debut, won't you? See you next month!

7 comments:

  1. Have a fun, moving around vacation. I sit way too much at home writing, blogging, and reading blogs and reading. Plus I sit at work.

    For about a month now, I've been putting my laptop (or keyboard at work) on a stack of books and standing for a few hours a day. It's working with exercise to lose some of that weight sitting causes.

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  2. Oh, man. I'm in serious trouble. I readily tell people I plan to die young, and it's pretty much for this reason. I'm maybe like a world record sitter. Sigh.

    Have a wonderful (active, healthy, rejuvenating) vacation!

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  3. Looks like I'm in serious trouble, too! Does it help at all if you move from seat to seat around the house? No? Well rats.

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  4. Hmm. I used to have such an active job. Climbing scaffolding, hanging lights and speakers, lifting things - trouble was, I hated it. Now I sit for 9 hours a day at work, and then sit some more at home. I guess I better start lying down as soon as I get home.

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    1. Matt, you've got the right idea! Perhaps we can all save ourselves by lying down!!!

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  5. I got a couple of years before I have to worry about it. Maybe. I can't remember how old I am. That's the hazard of being a YA writer. Inside, I'm only 17 years old. Hmmm. Maybe I have more years before 45 than I realize. :D

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  6. Now I feel I must get up and make myself a cup of tea (just for the exercise, you understand!)

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