Constant sitting doesn’t just punish the body. It’s also bad for cognitive functioning, says brain researcher John Medina, author of “Brain Rules.”
During eons of hunting and gathering, our brains evolved to solve problems in near constant motion, explains Medina, a molecular biologist at the University of Washington Medical School.
“We were walking 14 hours a day, seven days a week,” he says. “If you’re sitting on your butt for 14 hours a day, you’re not optimizing the system.”
His own solution was to equip his office with a treadmill desk, where for a few hours daily he walks at 1.8 mph while talking on the phone or typing e-mails. Since starting the practice a few years ago, “I’ve never felt clearer intellectually in my life,” he says. “It really works.”
And there’s another bonus — Medina’s lost 37 pounds.