If you’re the type that sits down all day at work, or most of the time, or play a lot of video games while sitting at the couch, let’s face it, your habits are not doing your health or back any favors. While getting up and around to exercise and improving your core muscles is one way to balance it out, not everyone has so much time or discipline to do that.
We have seen posture trackers that attach to our backs and waists, but if we were to look to any part of our body to keep tabs on our sitting habits, it would be our backsides that know best, right? The team behind Darma is banking on our buttocks painting a clearer picture, developing a smart cushion that monitors how we sit to provide feedback on posture, stress levels, heart rate and respiration. The adverse effects of prolonged sitting are well-established, with studies having linked it to health concerns, such as obesity, high blood pressure and increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease. This has led to a rise in solutions, such as sitting on exercise balls and using standing desks, though research has suggested that standing for too long can also be dangerous to our health.
