It’s important to be honest about how much time you spend sitting. You might be more sedentary than you think!
Sitting a lot can be bad for your health. It can lead to health problems like obesity and heart disease. But there are ways to improve your health if you sit a lot.
Here’s the answer to that and more!
Is a sedentary lifestyle harmful to your health?
The quick answer is that a sedentary lifestyle harms one’s health. Sedentary lifestyles kill over 2 million people each year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Aside from death, sedentary living can lead to cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and other health issues, which we’ll discuss in this article.
Sedentary lifestyles aren’t just a problem for the elderly; they’re also widespread among children and adults. So, let’s look at why a sedentary lifestyle harms your health.
Gaining Weight.
When you sit more and walk less, your body burns fewer calories. And the fewer calories you expend, the more likely you will gain weight. According to Healthline, this is precisely why sedentary lifestyles are associated with obesity. According to the report, studies suggest that obese people sit for an additional 2 hours each day than people of normal weight.
But what if you only exercise for an hour a day and spend the rest of your time sitting? Will this solve the problem? No, it does not. According to Healthline, one study discovered that “one hour of vigorous exercise did not compensate for the harmful effects of inactivity when additional hours were spent sitting.” In addition to daily exercise, incorporating moderate-intensity activity throughout the day can help lessen your risk of certain health problems.
Weakness in the lower body.
A strong lower body is required for a solid foundation. Because your leg and gluteal muscles are involved in many motions, including upper-body movements, keeping them strong and mobile is critical. Sedentism, however, can weaken the lower body.
According to Better Health, prolonged sitting can cause “weakening and wasting away of the major leg and gluteal muscles.” According to the source, when the lower body is weak, you are more prone to damage yourself through falls and straining. It is also a severe issue for seniors because it is more difficult to recover after a fall.
Hip and back weakness.
Sedentism can also wreak havoc on your hips and back. According to Better Health, sitting for long periods might cause your hip flexors to shorten. It is an issue because your hip flexors are essential for healthy posture and core stability. Thus weak hips can result in poor posture, joint pain, and injury.
Long durations of sitting can also weaken your back, damaging your posture and core muscles. Furthermore, bad posture can lead to poor spine health, which, according to the site, can lead to disc compression. It can eventually lead to early deterioration, which can be excruciatingly painful. Maintaining proper posture while sitting and using ergonomically built seats is critical, especially when working at a desk.
Heart health is affected by sedentary lifestyles.
Sitting in the same position for a long time can worsen your heart health. It is because it can give rise to fatty material building up in your arteries. If the arteries that supply blood to your heart become blocked, this can lead to a heart attack. If the arteries that supply blood to your brain become blocked, this can lead to a stroke.
People who watch a lot of TVs have a higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. In this study, people who watched more than 3 hours per day had a 64% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease than people who watched less than 11 hours per day.
Increases the risk of deep vein thrombosis.
Sedentism can raise your risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). For those unfamiliar, DVT is a blood clot in a vein that usually happens in the leg. It is also a medical emergency because it can potentially create life-threatening complications.
Because your muscles do not flex when you sit for long periods, blood clots can form. If a blood clot breaks off, it might move to other parts of your body and choke off blood flow. It is why it is a medical emergency. DVT symptoms include throbbing or camping in one leg, swelling in one leg, the warm or darker skin surrounding the painful area, and enlarged veins that are hard or sore to touch.
It may increase your chances of depression and anxiety.
Sedentism not only has a bad impact on your physical health but can also harm your mental health. According to research, long periods of sitting have been linked to sadness, anxiety, and chronic stress.
Sitting for more than 8 hours a day might reduce motivation, contribute to weariness, and make managing mental health concerns more difficult. Sedentism can not only increase your risk of anxiety and depression, but it can also make it difficult to treat. According to the source, even with exercise, “the negative effect on mental health was not addressed until the sitting time was also reduced.”
Reduce sedentary behavior at home.
Despite knowing the value of physical activity, the CDC reports that more than 60% of American adults still need to get the recommended amount. Furthermore, approximately 25% of adults in the United States are not physically active at all. The good news is that becoming less sedentary at home does not have to be difficult. There are simple methods to incorporate exercise and movement into your daily routine.
To begin, doing housekeeping, gardening, or other physical activities around the house is a fantastic way to get your body moving. When watching TV, get up now and again and move about, do some moderate stretching, or lift some weights—walking around while on the phone is another simple method to incorporate extra activity into your day. You may also walk around your neighborhood, practice at-home workouts, or invest in home fitness equipment.
The best way to be less sedentary at work.
A study by the National Library of Medicine found that most Americans don’t have jobs that require a lot of physical activity. But there are some things you can do at work to help you stay active. For example, you can get up and move around if you have a desk job.
It is critical to get up from your desk at least once an hour, and you can do this by heading to the restroom, drinking some water, or stretching.
There are many ways to make your day more active. These include taking the stairs instead of the elevator, standing when talking on the phone, and walking during your lunch break—having walking meetings with coworkers, standing up and going to a coworker’s office instead of sending them an email. Finally, consider talking to your company to see if they offer stand-up or treadmill desks.
