apple watch

apple park

I am not one to give into fads.  Any time a new diet came out, I wasn’t buying into it.  I like to think that I’m creating a healthy lifestyle, without giving into what the next big thing is in health and wellness.  That said, there is one fad that I can kind of get behind. And that’s the one that indicates that sitting for extended periods of time is bad for you.  As someone who sits at a desk for hours and hours on end, I can absolutely see how this could happen.  My joints start to seize up, and my back and hips start to hurt.

Of course, we have standing workstations in our office in order to promote a balanced lifestyle.  Stand if you need to stand, sit if you want to sit.  I think more and more companies are going to start to see this as a benefit and put them in the workplace.  Which is why I wasn’t surprised when I heard that Apple is now doing it.  That’s right, every employee at Apple’s new headquarters are being issued with standing desks.  Apple is usually pretty closed off when it comes to their day-to-day activities, but Tim Cook did reveal this during an interview this week with Bloomberg. Tim Cook states:

“We have given all of our employees, 100%, standing desks. If you can stand for a while, then sit, and so on and so forth, it’s much better for your lifestyle.”

standing desk

And he’s not wrong.  It is better for your lifestyle.  Cook also quotes doctors who describe sitting as the new cancer.  Which supports the fact that the Apple Watch notifies you that you need to stand every hour.  In fact, you can set how many stand hours you want during the day, and if you meet them you will close that ring.  I have mine set for 12 hours because I feel like this is manageable, but there are some Saturdays that I’m struggling to get half of those hours in.  I feel like it’s a balance.

While the desks aren’t the answer to our health problem, they certainly help.  There are other things that an employer can do, like offer discounts on gym memberships, or have a gym in-house.  Which is what Apple does also.  I think part of the reason that Apple does this is that they need to walk the walk.  A big part of the Apple Watch is to help people track their health.  Whether it’s how many calories you are taking in, or how many you are putting out.  The Watch helps you monitor your activity, and I think that’s great.

apple watch

Back in 2015, Tim Cook described the Stand feature like this:

“If I sit for too long, it will actually tap me on the wrist to remind me to get up and move, because a lot of doctors think sitting is the new cancer. Ten minutes before the hour, it will remind you to move. We have a lot of people using the Apple Watch at Apple, and ten minutes before the hour, suddenly they all get up and move. It took a little to get used to, but it’s great.”