Think about how much time you spend each day sitting down. You may sit down throughout the entire working day at a desk in front of a computer. You sit during your commute to and from work. And you sit when you’re watching TV in the evening, or surfing the web.
Your body goes through certain physiological changes when it’s not being used ( sitting for long time ). For instance, when the bigger muscles in the lower half of your body aren’t working, the inactivity sends a signal to your brain that changes your metabolism. These changes cause an increase in your blood sugar levels, and a 90% decrease in the amount of stored fat that’s used as fuel in your body. This, in turn, has a number of ill effects, from obesity to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease later in life.
- Sitting increases our risk of death by up to 50% – A study compared adults who sat less than 2 hours per day to those sitting more than 4 hours. Those who say more had an up to 50 % increased of death and also a 125% increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Sitting makes us fat – Sitting too much makes the body dormant. Our bodies simply aren’t built to sit all day. Our legs need to be stretched and standing helps in doing this. When we sit for longer periods, our heart rate slows and calorie burning rate drops.
- Sitting makes us depressed – Studies have shown that people who sit for 7 hours per day are 3 times as likely to have symptoms of depression than those who sit few hours.
- Sitting ruins our bodies – Prolonged sitting during sedentary work has been reported as a potential risk factor for low back pain and neck pain. Furthermore, prolonged sitting can result in both reduced spinal height and lumbar (low back) range of motion.
So let’s stand up and move around every 55 minutes. This is easy to say and hard for some to do, but make it a goal. In fact, write it on a Post-it and stick it anywhere you get stuck, say, your computer / laptop. After 55 minutes of work, get up and walk around / climb a flight of stairs. Or if you have private office, run through a couple of yoga pose / some push-ups, jumping jacks, anything that shakes you out of the ‘chair’ shape your body’s been holding. This break also gives your mind a restart, so this habit can be great for productivity.
Also, if you don’t exercise at all, be gentle as you begin. Don’t start in the gym, but in real life. For example, take the long way to the train in the morning, take the stairs instead of elevator. Ease yourself into movement then only introduce more physically challenging activity in your daily life. Everyone of us need to wake up our body before starting to lift weights or running. It’s always easier to start with small movement in daily life instead of ‘I’m joining the gym!’ drama. Now, stop looking at your laptop and go for a walk!
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