Living a sedentary lifestyle can be dangerous to your health. The less sitting or lying down you do during the day, the better your chances for living a healthy life. If you stand or move around during the day, you have a lower risk of early death than if you sit at a desk.
If you live a sedentary lifestyle, you have a higher chance of being overweight, developing type 2 diabetes or heart disease, and experiencing depression and anxiety.
Humans are built to stand upright. Your heart and cardiovascular system work more effectively that way. Your bowel also functions more efficiently when you are upright. It is common for people who are bedridden in the hospital to experience problems with their bowel function. When you are physically active, on the other hand, your overall energy levels and endurance improve, and your bones maintain strength.
It’s estimated that adults spend around 50-70% of their day doing sedentary activities. When you take into account watching TV, computer use, driving, and phone use, sitting time can quickly add up. We all know the benefits of physical activity, yet the modern world seems to encourage prolonged sitting.
Prolong sitting can affect the whole body. Following are the bad effects of prolonged sitting.
Legs and gluteal region
Sitting for long periods can lead to weakening and wasting away of the large leg and gluteal muscles. These large muscles are important for walking. If these muscles are weak you are more likely to get injured yourself from falls, and strains when you do exercise.
Weight
Moving your muscles helps your body digest the fats and sugars you eat. If you spend a lot of time sitting, digestion is not as efficient, so you retain those fats and sugars as fat in your body.
Even if you exercise but spend a large amount of time sitting, you are still risking health problems, such as metabolic syndrome. The latest research suggests you need 60–75 minutes per day of moderate-intensity activity to combat the dangers of excessive sitting.
Hips and back
Just like your legs and gluteals, your hips and back will not support you as well if you sit for long periods. Sitting causes your hip flexor muscles to shorten, which can lead to problems with your hip joints.
Sitting for long periods can also cause problems with your back, especially if you consistently sit with poor posture or don’t use an ergonomically designed chair or workstation. Poor posture may also cause poor spine health such as compression in the discs in your spine, leading to premature degeneration, which can be very painful.
When you sit too much and slump in a chair you don’t use your Abdominal muscles. This causes “mushy abs”.sitting encourages “limp glutes “. If you sit a lot, you are at a greater risk for herniated lumbar disks. When you don’t move your upper body weight rests entirely on your ischial tuberosity (sitting bones) for a prolonged period potentially causing disc damage.
Anxiety and depression
If you sit for a long time, everything including brain function slows down. Muscles in motion pump fresh blood and oxygen through the brain and trigger the release of beneficial chemicals. We don’t understand the links between sitting and mental health as well as we do the links between sitting and physical health yet, but we do know that the risk of both anxiety and depression is higher in people that sit more. This might be because people who spend a lot of time sitting are missing the positive effects of physical activity and fitness. If so, getting up and moving may help.
Cancer
Emerging studies suggest the dangers of sitting include increasing your chances of developing some types of cancer, including lung, uterine, and colon cancers. The reason behind this is not yet known.
Heart disease
Sitting for long periods has been linked to heart disease. One study found that men who watch more than 23 hours of television a week have a 64 percent higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than men who only watch 11 hours of television a week.
Some experts say that people who are inactive and sit for long periods have a 147 percent higher risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke.
Diabetes
The pancreas produces insulin but cells in idle muscles don’t respond as readily to insulin. An overproductive pancreas can lead to diabetes and other diseases Studies have shown that even five days lying in bed can lead to increased insulin resistance in your body (This will cause your blood sugars to increase above the normal range). Research suggests that people who spend more time sitting have a 112 percent higher risk of diabetes.
Varicose veins
Sitting for long periods can lead to varicose veins or spider veins (A smaller version of varicose veins). This is because sitting causes blood to pool in your legs. Varicose veins aren’t usually dangerous. In rare cases, they can lead to blood clots, which can cause serious problems such as DVT.
Deep vein thrombosis
Sitting for too long can cause deep vein thrombosis (DVT), for example on a long plane or car trip. Deep Vein Thrombosis is a blood clot that forms in the veins of your leg. DVT is a serious problem because if part of a blood clot in the leg vein breaks off and travels, it can cut off the blood flow to other parts of the body, including your lungs, which can cause a pulmonary embolism. This is a medical emergency that can lead to major complications or even death.
Stiff neck and shoulders
If you spend your time hunched over a computer keyboard, this can lead to pain and stiffness in your neck and shoulders. Sitting for a long time in a forward neck posture can strain the cervical vertebrae and lead to permanent imbalances.
TIPS to reduce prolonged sitting time
Breaking up long blocks of sitting to flex your muscles seems like a wise move for all of us, so try to build more activity into your day.
Set a timer to remind you to get up and move around every so often.
Take your phone calls standing up.
Try an adjustable standing desk for your computer.
Instead of sitting in an armchair while watching TV, sit on a stability ball, which makes you use your muscles to stay upright.
Do joint pain relief exercises prescribed by your physiotherapist.
Consult a physiotherapist in your area to get advice on correct sitting posture and ergonomics.
References
https://www.health.harvard.edu/pain/the-dangers-of-sitting
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/the-dangers-of-sitting
Ann Saparamadu
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