1.
This is indeed a self-help article, but it is not a riff on Bob Marley's immortal song, Stand Up for Your Rights; it is, rather, advice that might keep you exuberantly vertical, instead of eternally horizontal, for many years to come.
Lewis Carroll said it best: Don't just do something, stand there. Research has convincingly shown that, while standing might not be particularly good for bunions and soles, it happens to be very good for bodies and souls.
Here are some of the benefits of standing, according to scientific research:
The facts are in, and it's good news. Even better news: you don't have to sweat the big stuff. No need to suffer while juggling kettlebells or attending boot camp at a local gym. As Kitty Kallen sang in a song from the 1950s--yes, I remember it well--Little Things Mean A Lot. (Kallen is still alive and nearly 100 years old.) Little things, in addition to standing and regular moderate exercise, might include taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking farther away from the grocery store, etc. If you work at an office where you sit all day, utilizing a standing desk for part of that time, or simply standing at your desk for a while, is an excellent and increasingly popular way to improve your health. The Aristotelian mean will keep you lean!
2.
I worked at a clinic for several years with a colleague, an internist, who was quite obese. (Gone are the days of paper medical records; younger physicians will soon find it quaint that there was a time when physicians didn't sit at a computer.) You didn't have to recognize his handwriting to know whether this doctor had entered something in a patient's chart; the inevitable cheese doodle stains on the page were enough to reveal whose fat fingers had manned the pen. Yes, he was quite obese, and yes, he lectured his patients about the benefits of exercise, good nutrition and the maintenance of a healthy weight. When a patient's eyes revealed the patient's thought--namely, how dare a big blimp advise a little blimp to skimp?-- he always replied, "Do as I say, not as I do."
That is not my philosophy.
I will finish this little heuristic article by revealing some of the ways I have incorporated standing up for myself. (What works for me might work for you.)
The best friend I ever had, Walter Wilczewski, died a little over thirty-eight years ago--as I wrote in a poem, he was the same age as Schubert was at the time of his death--only 31, alas! My friend died of multiple congenital aneurysms in his brain, standing would have done him absolutely no good. One day, he told me that he had begun a poem. The first line--Nirmala and I still recall it well--was, "I ate my breakfast standing up." Walter was sometimes ahead of his time, albeit in strange ways. I'm sure my he would be pleased to know that I am following his advice, albeit in my own, less odd way: in order to have a good time, I will continue to eat my meals while sitting; in order to have more time to be good, however, I will also continue to feast my eyes while I stand.
Addendum 10/18/2014
Last night while standing during a televised broadcast of Porgy and Bess, I coined a word (during the intermission) which expresses my ongoing enthusiasm for standing. It is stehtoll, which may be translated as "mad about standing." (In German it is perfectly permissible to coin new words, usually consisting of two or more common words: "Steh, " as a word meaning "stand" is used in such combinations as "Stehlampe," meaning a "standing lamp" or "Stehpult" meaning a "standing desk." Toll means "crazy"--or, among other things, "wildly enthusiastic.") I have become quite stehtoll, I admit. it. One of the refreshing benefits of my Stehtollheit is that I now sleep entirely through the night--I had often been waking up four hours after retiring. I thought some of you with sleep problems might try becoming stehtoll--Standing for at least three hours a day is ideal. If you do try it, I'd appreciate hearing from you in the comment box.
This is indeed a self-help article, but it is not a riff on Bob Marley's immortal song, Stand Up for Your Rights; it is, rather, advice that might keep you exuberantly vertical, instead of eternally horizontal, for many years to come.
Lewis Carroll said it best: Don't just do something, stand there. Research has convincingly shown that, while standing might not be particularly good for bunions and soles, it happens to be very good for bodies and souls.
Here are some of the benefits of standing, according to scientific research:
- "Sitting is the new smoking"--Sitting for most of the day is associated with increased rates of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer and, you guessed it, The Big One.
- It has been determined that the negative effects of sitting for most of the day cannot be countered by even a daily trip to the gym.
- According to a British expert, the health benefits of standing for three hours every day is equivalent to participating in ten marathons a year!
- A recent Swedish study revealed that DNA telomeres remain intact longer in those who sit less. (Telomeres are the ends of DNA strands the fraying of which is associated with aging.) Reducing sitting protects telomeres even better than exercise.
- Standing, like exercise, improves mood. (In moderation of course--Cashiers at WalMart, some of whom are not young, are forced to stand for hours. By the look on their faces and their responses when I asked whether standing up all day is difficult, I realized that a little sitting is not a dangerous thing.)
- On German trams there used to be a Schaffner, who punched or sold the tickets, and a Fahrer, who drove the tram. You guessed it, research proved that Schaffners lived longer. (These days, it's all automated and on the honor system--that is, you cancel your own ticket at a machine on the tram. Imagine that in New York!)
The facts are in, and it's good news. Even better news: you don't have to sweat the big stuff. No need to suffer while juggling kettlebells or attending boot camp at a local gym. As Kitty Kallen sang in a song from the 1950s--yes, I remember it well--Little Things Mean A Lot. (Kallen is still alive and nearly 100 years old.) Little things, in addition to standing and regular moderate exercise, might include taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking farther away from the grocery store, etc. If you work at an office where you sit all day, utilizing a standing desk for part of that time, or simply standing at your desk for a while, is an excellent and increasingly popular way to improve your health. The Aristotelian mean will keep you lean!
2.
I worked at a clinic for several years with a colleague, an internist, who was quite obese. (Gone are the days of paper medical records; younger physicians will soon find it quaint that there was a time when physicians didn't sit at a computer.) You didn't have to recognize his handwriting to know whether this doctor had entered something in a patient's chart; the inevitable cheese doodle stains on the page were enough to reveal whose fat fingers had manned the pen. Yes, he was quite obese, and yes, he lectured his patients about the benefits of exercise, good nutrition and the maintenance of a healthy weight. When a patient's eyes revealed the patient's thought--namely, how dare a big blimp advise a little blimp to skimp?-- he always replied, "Do as I say, not as I do."
That is not my philosophy.
I will finish this little heuristic article by revealing some of the ways I have incorporated standing up for myself. (What works for me might work for you.)
- I've bought a portable podium; I stand before it and do at least an hour's worth of reading and writing every day. (In preparation for lectures I recently gave, I put my podium in my yard and lectured to the birds. I was encouraged by the many tweets I received.)
- I watch about 4 or 5 hours of TV per week. (While standing, of course.) My wife, Nirmala, sits while I stand, which is fine--she gets at least three hours a day of standing at her office.
- I walk a lot--to the bank, to the store, etc. I notice that most people drive--even for a short distance. (Recently, after I had escorted a woman to her car after a night of dancing, she offered to drive me back to the club. She had parked across the street!)
The best friend I ever had, Walter Wilczewski, died a little over thirty-eight years ago--as I wrote in a poem, he was the same age as Schubert was at the time of his death--only 31, alas! My friend died of multiple congenital aneurysms in his brain, standing would have done him absolutely no good. One day, he told me that he had begun a poem. The first line--Nirmala and I still recall it well--was, "I ate my breakfast standing up." Walter was sometimes ahead of his time, albeit in strange ways. I'm sure my he would be pleased to know that I am following his advice, albeit in my own, less odd way: in order to have a good time, I will continue to eat my meals while sitting; in order to have more time to be good, however, I will also continue to feast my eyes while I stand.
Addendum 10/18/2014
Last night while standing during a televised broadcast of Porgy and Bess, I coined a word (during the intermission) which expresses my ongoing enthusiasm for standing. It is stehtoll, which may be translated as "mad about standing." (In German it is perfectly permissible to coin new words, usually consisting of two or more common words: "Steh, " as a word meaning "stand" is used in such combinations as "Stehlampe," meaning a "standing lamp" or "Stehpult" meaning a "standing desk." Toll means "crazy"--or, among other things, "wildly enthusiastic.") I have become quite stehtoll, I admit. it. One of the refreshing benefits of my Stehtollheit is that I now sleep entirely through the night--I had often been waking up four hours after retiring. I thought some of you with sleep problems might try becoming stehtoll--Standing for at least three hours a day is ideal. If you do try it, I'd appreciate hearing from you in the comment box.
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