Our bodies are designed to always be in motion, but still, many of us spend the bulk of our day sitting at desks. According to a study, on average, a US adult spends 9 to 10 hours each day sitting, which is so much inactivity that even a 30 or 60-minute workout “as typically recommended” can’t even attempt to counteract.
The fact is, many Americans don’t fit in a workout or a long walk into their day, which means their bodies are virtually always in a sedentary state. It’s not that sitting is inherently dangerous… the danger is in how long we sit. While a brief period of sitting here and there is natural, long periods of sitting day-in and day-out can seriously impact your health and shorten our lives.
Want to know what can really happen to your body? Check out these facts of what sitting can do to your health:
1. Damages the heart. When you sit, blood flows slower and muscles burn less fat, which makes it easier for fatty acids to clog your heart.
2. Affects your pancreas. Your body’s ability to respond to insulin is affected by just one day of excess sitting, which leads your pancreas to produce
increased amounts of insulin, and this may lead to diabetes.
3. Increases risk of colon cancer. Excess sitting may increase your risk of colon, breast, and endometrial cancers. How this happens isn’t known for certain, but it could be due to excess of insulin being produced, which encourages cell growth, or the fact that regular movement boosts antioxidants in your body that can eliminate potentially cancer-causing free radicals.
4. Causes problems with digestion. Sitting down after you’ve eaten causes your abdominal contents to compress, slowing down digestion. Sluggish digestion, in turn, can lead to cramping, bloating, heartburn, and constipation, as well as dysbiosis in your gastrointestinal tract, which is a condition caused by microbial imbalances in your body.
5. Leads to brain damages. Did you know your brain function slows down when your body is sedentary for too long? Your brain will get less fresh blood and oxygen, which are needed to trigger the release of brain and mood-enhancing chemicals.
6. Causes posture problems. Strained neck, shoulders, and back are not uncommon for people who sit a lot. It’s common to hold your neck and head forward while working at a computer or holding a phone to your ear. This can lead to strains to your cervical vertebrae along with permanent imbalances, which can lead to neck strains, sore shoulders and back problems.
7. You can lose muscle. Standing requires you to tense your abdominal muscles, which go unused when you sit, ultimately leading to weak abdominals. Your hips also suffer from
prolonged sitting, becoming tight and limited in the range of motion because they are rarely extended.
Sitting also does nothing for your glutes, which may become weakened, affecting your stability and the power of your stride when walking and jumping.
8. It can lead to leg problems. Sitting leads to poor circulation in your legs, which can cause swelling in your ankles, varicose veins, and blood clots. Walking, running, and engaging in other weight-bearing activities lead to stronger, denser bones. Lack of activity may cause weak bones too and even osteoporosis.
Remember, the more hours you spend sitting in a day, the shorter your lifespan could be. Reducing the average time you spend sitting down to less than 3 hours a day could possibly increase your life expectancy. Be active. Be present…and make time for your health each and every day.
Tia Muhammad, BS, is an award-winning freelance content & media creative, copywriter, blogger, digital designer, and marketing consultant. She owns the boutique content and digital media company, jackieGLDN|studio.
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