Galen Cranz - keeping you on the edge of your seat - a podcast by RNZ

Professor of Social Architecture at the University of California, Galen Cranz hasn't had conventional chairs in her house for some 20 years, out of concern for how damaging they are to our health. She prefers stools, including ones that wobble. She doesn't want us to keep still. Professor Cranz says right-angled chairs force a C-slumped spine, causing the chest to cave in, the pelvis to crunch, the lower back to collapse, our head to jut forward putting pressure on our neck. Many of us are left with all sorts of aches and pains, especially as we spend long hours in front of a computer. Professor Cranz concurs with research published in the American Journal of Public Health suggesting sitting for prolonged periods can be more damaging to our heart health than smoking. But, as she tell Kathryn Ryan, she has some solutions. Professor Cranz is a designer, a consultant specialising in chairs and body conscious design, author of The Chair: Rethinking Culture, Body, and Design and a certified Alexander Technique teacher.

Further episodes of Nine To Noon

Further podcasts by RNZ

Website of RNZ