Honestly, if you take pride in being glued to your chair for work, then you should change your mindset. Sitting for prolonged periods is very dangerous for your health. Do you know that more than half of the world’s population spends over six hours sitting on a chair, bed, or sofa every day? Clearly, too much sitting leads to many health concerns such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol levels, and more.
Well, this modern society foster sitting, and people are bound to live a sedentary lifestyle.
Wondering, what exactly a sedentary lifestyle is?
It is a lifestyle in which people spend most of their time sitting or lying down while occupied with any activity like watching television, socializing, reading a book, playing a video game, using a mobile phone, and more. In fact, sitting motionless in front of your laptop with just moving your eyes and fingers is a part of a sedentary lifestyle that leads to so many chronic health problems.
Certainly, sitting is one of the most common body postures today. Whether you socialize, do work, travel, or study, most of the time you are in a sitting position which is very harmful to your health. According to a recent survey report, indulging yourself in intense physical activity for one hour can slightly combat the negative effects of extended sitting.
Let’s dive straight into some reasons why sitting for too long is dangerous:
Weight Gain
If you are sitting all day on your chair and continuously working to get the work done, then you are making a big mistake. You need to understand that staying glued to your chair is the number one cause of weight gain. Busy schedules, mindless snacking, and sitting all day can make your feel lethargic, which eventually leads to weight gain. Well, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t sit at all and stay physically active all day. In order to counter the dangers of excessive sitting, you should get yourself moving within 1-2 hours. Apart from this, many people have a misconception that one hour of daily exercise is enough to stay fit and healthy. Well, it may slightly benefit you but can’t eliminate the risk of extended sitting completely.
Weak Legs and Glutes
Sitting for long periods adversely affects your legs and glutes. Wondering, why? Well, it’s quite simple! If you don’t move them, you will lose them. Keep in mind that the lower body has the most powerful muscles that are crucial for walking and stabilizing your body. Extended sitting can weaken the muscles of your legs and glutes, which leads to many health problems like lower back pain, trouble climbing stairs, balance problems, knee pain, and more. So, stop planting yourself on a chair, couch, or bed for hours! Instead, stay active.
Anxiety and Depression
Usually, people don’t take mental health problems seriously. Well, you need to understand that mental health problems are equally dangerous and need the proper treatment. So, it’s imperative to seek a medical professional, if required. According to the latest study report, too much sitting increases the risk of depression. The reason behind this is the lack of physical activity. Physical activity is not just beneficial for your body but, it’s wonderful for your mind too. It helps you improve your mental health by reducing negative moods, depression, ADHD, anxiety, and more. In fact, regular exercises can help you improve cognitive function and self-esteem. Exercise is great to boost brain power, improve focus and drive productivity. If you want to mitigate anxiety, depression, stress, and other mental health issues, then you should keep yourself active.
Cancer
Prolonged sitting increases the risk of developing cancer!
Scary, right? Well, it’s true!
A study report reveals that sitting for long periods increases the risk of developing some different types of cancer including endometrial, lung, or colon cancers. The more time you spend while sitting, the higher is the risk of cancer. So, avoid prolonged periods of sitting.
Heart Disease
Do you know that people who watch too much television have a more than 64 percent higher risk of developing heart diseases? The reason is inactivity for hours which increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and more. Moving within every hour minimizes the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Always remember that the more you sit, the greater your risk of chronic heart diseases.
In the Nutshell!
Doubtlessly, prolonged sitting is directly linked to many serious medical conditions. Thus, it’s imperative to stop living a sedentary lifestyle and focus on living a healthy lifestyle. Don’t plant yourself on your bed or chair for hours, but stay active. Take a break of 5 to 10 minutes after every one hour. This helps you keep yourself fit and healthy.
Author Bio:
Dr. Prateek Kumar Gupta
Contributing Writer
Dr. Prateek Kumar Gupta is a highly trained arthroscopy and sports surgeon in AOSM. He treats sports injuries and other orthopedic injuries including foot, ankle, hip, elbow with a special interest in knee and shoulder issues that hinder patient/player’s quality of life.
