The Topo Mat and the Importance of Uneven Surfaces

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My guest today is Turner Osler, who is a trauma surgeon turned epidemiologist, now turned inventor and entrepreneur. Turner has the usual trauma surgeon backstory, from medical school to residency to fellowship as a trauma surgeon, with over 300 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. He made a transition to becoming an entrepreneur to build the company, QOR360, after he made the transition to research epidemiologist which inspired him to solve the problem of sitting when he found himself at a desk for many hours for the first time in his career.

If you're a long-time listener to my podcast, you know how I love to recommend products that promote an active workstation. The chairs that Turner designs really caught my attention because he's not trying to make a better chair; he’s trying to change your relationship to sitting. Turner reveals that standing is as detrimental to your health as sitting still, and we delve into the human body's natural physiology of sitting, standing, and movement. You’ll learn what active sitting is and about the physical and mental benefits it will give you. Turner's company is so passionate about their chairs that they've decided to give away the design for one of their models called the 'button chair' for free so that kids can reap the benefits and eliminate sitting disease for future generations to come.

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Here's What You'll Learn:

• What’s wrong with ‘ergonomic chairs’ that Turner decided to design his own chairs
• What caused Turner to suddenly switch from being a doctor to becoming a founder and inventor
• The negative effects (both physically and mentally) of sitting still for long periods of time
• Why is standing just as immobilizing as sitting
• The real opposite of sitting (it’s not what you think)
• The natural architecture of the human body
• How QOR360 chairs work
• Why are QOR360 chairs different from any other active chairs?
• How children can also benefit from active sitting
• What are ‘button chairs’ and why Turner and his team decided to give away the design for free

Useful Resources Mentioned:

Turner Osler on TED Talk: Active sitting - could we give our kids a future without back pain

How Being Sedentary Is Damaging You (According to NASA) | with Dr. Joan Vernikos

How Regular Movement Makes You Smarter | with Dr. John Ratey

Deskbound – Standing Up To a Sitting World | with Dr. Kelly Starrett

QOR360

Button Chairs

QOR360 FitterSitter App

Sit Better: A Doctor Explains How “Ergonomic” Chairs Undermine Posture and Health, Causing Back Pain and Shortened Lives

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The Ultimate Guide to Building a Healthy Workstation (And Being Less Sedentary)…All For the Price of a Single Desk Chair

On Authenticity, Luck, and Designing Life (and Footwear) On Your Own Terms | with Xero Shoes CEO Steven Sashen

Balancing Health, Happiness, & Hollywood (and the Consequences When You Don’t) | with Roger Barton

The Freelancer’s Guide to Building a “Dynamic Workstation On the Go”

The Top 10 (Healthy) Must-haves For Any Editing Gig

The Beginner’s Guide to Alleviating Chronic Pain In 5 Min a Day…Right at Your Desk [VIDEOS]

Simple Solutions to Your Chronic Aches & Pains (and Where They Came From) | with Dr. Sadie Sanders

The Solution to Your Sedentary Lifestyle | with Ben Greenfield

Guest Bio:

Turner Osler

Turner Osler has the usual academic trauma surgeon back story: BA Neurobiology (Princeton), MD (Medical College of Virginia), surgical residency (Columbia, Harvard), fellowship (University of New Mexico) and then 20 years an academic trauma surgeon (University of Vermont) with over 300 peer reviewed papers and book chapters.

But then Turner went off scrip, got a masters in Biostatistics and an NIH grant and abandoned the operating room to study trauma epidemiology. Somewhere in the last decade he became obsessed with the problems that come from sitting too much, and especially sitting badly. Because no one else was doing it, Turner and some friends created a company (QOR360.com) to make active sitting chairs affordable enough for everyone to have one. Turner lives in Vermont with his wife, son and dog who have been surprisingly tolerant of his mania and are being gradually drawn into the madness. Except the dog.

Show Credits:

This episode was edited by Curtis Fritsch, and the show notes were prepared by Debby Germino and published by Glen McNiel.

The original music in the opening and closing of the show is courtesy of Joe Trapanese (who is quite possibly one of the most talented composers on the face of the planet).