This shouldn’t come as a surprise to you that sitting around and not moving all day is not good for our bodies, but did you know how bad it actually is for you? I was aware of the problems sitting caused to our backs and posture but I thought it stopped there. Well it doesn’t. According to nursingschools.net, the affects of sitting can affect your health in a very serious way.
If you look back on your day, you may realize that you spend most of your time sitting. This could be sitting at your work desk, sitting in your car, or sitting on your couch. Wherever you are doing it, sitting takes up the majority of many peoples lives. So what are the negative affects sitting has on our bodies? The following is 5 of the 14 negative effects sitting can have on your body.
1. Obesity: when sitting you are not burning many calories, but research has also found that it can slow down your metabolism and change how you body functions.
2. Risk of Diabetes: along with an increased risk of heart disease, sitting for prolonged periods of time can increase your chances of developing diabetes by as much as 7 percent. Sitting all day can causes your body to slow down resulting in increased blood sugar and insulin resistance.
3. Raised Cholesterol: sitting causes enzyme activity in the body to drop by as much as 90%, preventing helpful enzymes from grabbing that fat and using it for energy. In fact healthy cholesterol plummets by 20%. after a few hours of sitting.
4. Herniated Disk: our bodies aren’t really made to sit all day. Sitting puts a lot of pressure on the hips and spine, which can lead to injuries in them over a long period of time. A herniated disk can be caused by continued pressure on your spine causing a disk to come out of place. This injury can be painful and can require medication, physical therapy or even surgery.
5. Back Aches and Pain: Your lower back is one of the areas that gets affected the most by sitting all day. It is under a large amount of pressure, which can cause it to ache while at work and for hours afterward. While stretching, working out the muscles and moving around can all help, many sitting all day just don’t realize how much they’re hurting their backs and could face long term problems.
As agents of John E. Peakes Insurance Agency, we know what it is like to sit all day, which is why we want to give you some options to throw into your daily routine to help offset these effects.
1. Sit on an exercise ball instead of a chair
2. If possible, walk around on while you talk on the phone.
3. Set a timer or an alarm every hour to remind you to stand up, walk around, and stretch.
4. Choose the stairs whenever possible
5. Bring your lunch to work to save time and allow you to have a quick walk around the block.
6. If possible, get a standing desk.
