The effect of prolonged sitting on mental task performance

Due to changes in technology, people are frequently relegated to the role of system monitor. This has created a more sedentary workplace, where the person commonly assumes a traditional seated position for prolonged periods of time. The seated position causes both biomechanical and physiologic stressors which can lead to discomfort over a prolonged period. It was hypothesized that the discomfort associated with prolonged sitting will degrade performance of a system monitoring task. A pilot study was conducted testing this hypothesis.