Is Sitting Really the New Smoking?

Well, not quite in a literal sense, but it is alarming how much of a negative impact a sedentary lifestyle can have on your health.

sutherland_chiropractic_death_chair!

And keep in context that this does not mean sitting down once, this is in context of having a sedentary lifestyle, you know, sitting during your commute to work, sitting all day at work, sitting to commute home, sitting and watching TV or being on the computer all night. Remember that your health is a reflection of your genetic expression and your environmental exposure.

What does sedentary mean?

The very vague line in the sand for someone to be considered ‘active’ and not ‘sedentary’ is doing at least 150 minutes of exercise per week, and it must be spread out over a number of days. (Doing it all at once go does not count!)

So for the mathematicians, that means about 30mins of exercise 5 days a week.

Why is it bad for me?

Here is a list of the potential threats to your health from sitting too long, too often:

• Increases your risk of heart attack to almost the same level as a smoker
• Sitting for too long reduces blood flow and blood sugar, increasing the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
• Muscles switch fatigue or relax and your ligaments can stretch out and become weak, leading to poor posture and all sorts of back pain syndromes
• Bones can lose density unless they are used under pressure regularly

What Can I Do? 

Here are some simple steps that you can take to prevent it:

• Only sit for about 40-60 minutes at a time. Set a timer and get up to have a drink, or go to the bathroom, or use a remote printer, or talk to people instead of sending an email
• Stand up on the train and give your seat to someone in need
• Go for a brisk walk for 15 minutes in the morning and in the evening
• Participate in your kids sports training during the week
• Join a social sports group for the accountability to regularly train and exercise

There are so many different ways that you can integrate activity into your day. Everyone on earth has the same amount of minutes in their day, and you get to choose where you spend them. people are not too busy for exercise, its just is not prioritised.

P.S.  yeah, smoking is still bad for you, but even smokers know that, lets just hope sitting is not as hard to quit as smoking is!