What would happen to your body if you didn’t sit down for a week? That’s the question that inspired this interesting experiment by a YouTuber.
Lucas Ball, known as Pigmie, decided to take on the challenge of staying on his feet for seven days. The rules were quite simple: Ball wasn’t allowed to sit down for anything, not even to use the toilet.
To sleep, he could lie down for eight hours at night, but all of his waking time had to be spent standing. “Sitting for too long without physical activity is associated with obesity and a range of other related conditions.”
“Spending prolonged periods sitting can lead to back pain, spinal dysfunction, joint degeneration, poor posture in the upper back, neck and shoulders, and vascular problems in the legs.”
To work, he bought a standing desk, which he said helped his productivity. Ball explained that since he wasn’t sitting, he didn’t have time to “take a deep breath and then get distracted.”
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But after a few days, he admitted that he started to feel pressure in his legs and feet. “I felt really sore and tired, and I could tell my posture while standing was starting to get sloppy.”
“Also, I was really hungry. Maybe it was from burning extra calories, but one thing I noticed was that eating distracted me from the idea of standing. And partly because of that, I was eating constantly all day,” Ball said.
Eventually, the pain in his legs began to affect his sleep quality. So he gave up the challenge on the fifth day. In addition to leg and foot pain, he gained nearly half a kilo.
But his digestion was “faster and smoother,” and he estimated he was 30% more productive at work. “What I think I’ll do from now on is start my work standing—maybe the first thing I do when I get on the computer for a few hours. And when I start to get tired, we’ll move that desk out of here.”
Photo and video: YouTube @pigmie. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
