Why Prolonged Sitting is the new smoking and How to reverse those effects

Stand up for your health. I mean that literally. Our society is mainly sedentary, where people spend far more time sitting than previous generations—an average of 12 hours a day versus three hours—and that’s a problem. 

The latest research shows that too much sitting may be more dangerous than smoking. It is associated with 34 chronic diseases or conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, back pain, some types of cancer, depression, and possibly even premature death.

How can something that seems safe cause so many problems? The human body is designed for activity. When muscles are inactive, they don’t take up glucose from the bloodstream as efficiently. Blood pressure rises. Sleep suffers.

Changes are observed even on the cellular level. An essential gene (called lipid phosphate phosphatase-1, or LPP1) helps prevent blood clotting and chronic, low-grade inflammation functions optimally when you exercise regularly. Spending too many hours in chairs suppresses the gene so much that even daily workouts don’t affect it. 

Even 30 minutes of daily workout isn’t enough to counteract all the bodily harm due to 8-10 hrs of sitting, what counts just as much as what you do in all those long hours in between.

Here are three simple solutions to increase your activity along with some tips. 

1. Move after 60 minutes of any sedentary activity: Considering moving for 4-5 minutes after every 60 minutes of sitting or even standing. Do walking or even simple stretching. Simple stretching exercises which even can be done at your workplace can be found on our blog. 
2. Walk at least 10,000 steps daily: This number is a good reference for the daily steps covered. You can use free apps such as google fit (Android)/Health app (iOS) to track your steps daily. If you cannot complete your goal, go for a walk. Here are some simple hacks to increase the number of steps daily
   • Walk while brushing your teeth twice a day. 
   • Get off the bus a few stops from work and walk the rest of the way.
   • Park your car as far away as possible and walk to your office. 
   • Try stairs instead of an elevator – It improves cardiovascular fitness and strengthens muscles.
   • Make plans to meet a co-worker for a walk break. 
   • Walk 10-15 minutes after meals, which also helps lower your blood glucose level.
   • Take phone call standing up.
   • Play outside with kids or family 
   • Get up and do a few exercises or move around during TV commercials at home.
   • Lastly, Track your steps, it will help you by keeping you motivated.
3. Start doing Home-Workouts/Yoga: Bodyweight exercises and Yoga can enhance a range of bio-motor abilities, including strength, power, endurance, speed, flexibility, coordination, and balance. If you are busy, you can even try 10-15 minutes of workout or Yoga (Surya-namaskar) daily. You can find more details about it in our blog. These workouts combine strength, endurance, and aerobic training into one easy-to-perform exercise that can help support weight loss and improve metabolic health.

Remember, Success is the sum of small efforts repeated throughout the day. 

Here’s short summary for you to remember

• Sitting for longer periods may be more dangerous than smoking
• It is associated with 34 chronic diseases or conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, back pain, some types of cancer, depression, and possibly even premature death.
• Even 30 minutes of dailyworkout isn’t enough to counteract all the bodily harm due to 8-10 hrs of sitting
• Simple Solutions
  • Move after 60 minutes of any sedentary activity
  • Walk at least 10,000 steps daily
  • Start doing Home Workouts/Yoga