Take a look at your favorite seat...does it have an imprint of your bottom on it?
If so, you may be sitting too much and be at risk for "Lethal Sitting Disease". This, according to Dr. J. Levine's book, "Get up!: Why your chair Is killing you and what you can do about it".
86% of Americans sit all day at work.
68% hate it!
70% of our awake time is sitting.
Grab a pen and pencil, let's calculate how many hours you are sitting a day:
How long do you ...
- commute to and from school/work each way?
- sit at school/work each day?
- sit to eat your meals?
- sit to decompress by surfing the internet, playing video games, etc?
What is Lethal Sitting Disease?
Endocrinologist, J. Lavine says Lethal Sitting Disease could lead to increased death from cardiovascular disease and cancer. In fact, "your risk is increased by 125% of events associated with cardiovascular disease such as chest pain (angina) or heart attack." Other harmful affects of sitting are:
Change Your Position?
Get up! In fact, as you are reading this, stand up and move around (keep reading though). "Two hours and 15 minutes less sitting can reverse the negative effects without changing your job description". In addition to lowering your risks of disease, moving and exercise has positive effects on your life other than fitting in your clothes better.
Did you know 20 minutes of exercise can increase your brain activity by 20%.* Have you ever been studying for a test that required you to memorize formulas, dates, words etc.? The next time this happens, rather than stressing yourself by cramming, then getting more stressed out, try getting up to take a 20 minute walk. Resume your studying and see how you feel? Does the science back up your experience?
Hippocrates said, "If you are in a bad mood, go for a walk...If you're still in a bad mood, go for another walk".
Here are a few ideas you may want to try out before finding comfort in the ol' comfy sofa or molded chair:
- Park your car far away. Enjoy the walk.
- Instead of hitting up a drive thru window for lunch, hop on a treadmill or elliptical machine in the GCC Fitness Center. Bring your lunch instead.
- Get up and move 5-10 minutes every hour.
- Stretch and learn some yoga moves to alleviate back pain and increase blood flow.
- Stand at your desk rather than sit.
- Take a dance break. Yep, plug the headphones in and dance like nobody is watching. Better yet, grab your friends and make them dance with you.
Just get up, move. Encourage your fellow coworkers and classmates to move too. Increase your brain activity and become more efficient, creative, productive and happy. Don't be stingy, share this information with people you love so they can also feel the benefits of moving, making us all happier, healthier Be-ings.
Sources:
Levine, J. (2014). Get up!: Why your chair is killing you and what you can do about it. Palgrave Macmillan.
*Dr. Chuck Hillman University of Illinois
I once spent over 24 hours in my truck and it was the worst I've ever felt about my body in my life! (except when I had mono..) Its crazy how bad sitting really is, even if you're doing something at the same time! I really found your post interesting, and being newly inspired to start swimming regularly again, I also found it kind of inspiring haha!
ReplyDeleteReally love your blog! Didn't really realize how much sitting i actually do makes me feel like i should get up a do more! :)
ReplyDeleteWow, very nice blog. I find it very believable when they say sitting is bad for you. I cant really sit for more than 30 minutes at a time. Very awesome read, thank you !
ReplyDeleteThis makes me appreciate that I actually LOVE being active! My sister works a desk job at bank and she always complains about her aches and pains from sitting for hours on end! No wonder!
ReplyDeleteWow, who would have thought that sitting would do this to you. This information helps me in choosing my next job, in the sense of me getting a job at a call center or at Amazon. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteSerina--Great work on your blog so far. You have interesting topics and points for discussions, and you are doing a great job developing those topics. Your voice and personality shine. Great visual appeal. Keep it up!
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