How Sedentary Disease Is One Of The Leading Causes Of Life-Threatening Diseases
In this day and age, it’s highly likely you find yourself in the sitting position for most of the day. But did you know that living a sedentary lifestyle is a leading cause of a number of life-threatening diseases? No matter what your profession is, doctors all over the globe agree that it’s time to start moving, or face the dire consequences.
How Does Sitting Effect Health?
The human body wasn’t built to sit all day. And if you engage in more than 8 hours of sitting, this starts to cause serious damage to your circulatory system. According to Dr. Erin Michos at Hopkins Medicine, once you hit 10 hours or more of sitting per day, your risk of cardiovascular disease increases dramatically. As does your risk of dying from a stroke, this is because your heart isn’t working that hard to pump the blood in your body when you sit.
And it’s not just your heart which suffers. When you sit all day, your muscles relax, and when this happens, they absorb very little glucose from your blood, and the scientists at Harvard Health have found this to be a leading cause of diabetes.
And sitting for long periods of time can also lead to a high risk of obesity, which comes with a whole host of additional chronic diseases that could ultimately lead to death.
But I Work Out Half An Hour A Day?
Unfortunately, Dr. Erin Michos says exercising for thirty minutes each day, then sitting the other 23 and a half hours isn’t going to save you from sedentary related disease. Although high level exercise has been shown in some studies to lower the risks of sedentary disease, this was only true in studies where the test subjects completed 60 to 75 minutes of high intensity activity per day. And this is a lot of exercise to squeeze into a busy work and social life.
Dr. Michos advises wearing a fitness tracker. Even if you work out each morning, you may be surprised to find that you spend the rest of the day sedentary, and don’t make the recommended 10,000 steps a day even with your workout. So, instead of trying to make your workout longer and harder, Dr. Michos says it’s simply easier to try and become less sedentary.
What Can I Do?
Well first of all, in order to lower your risk of sedentary related diseases, it’s important to get up and get moving whenever you can. Of course, this can be difficult depending on your profession. This is why the doctors at Mayo Clinic recommend trying out a standing desk if this is something your boss will allow. And if it isn’t allowed in your work place, even just standing while you talk on the phone or watch TV can help lower the number of hours you are sitting per day.
You can also take a timed break for every hour that you sit. The doctors at Harvard Health recommend setting a timer for this so you don’t forget. Also try to schedule walking meetings, walk to visit coworkers instead of calling, and plan active meetups with friends.
Overall, no matter how you look at it, living a life where you spend your entire day sedentary is bad for your health. And although you may work out for half an hour a day, this often times isn’t enough to cancel out 8 or 10 hours of sitting.
This is why it is critically important that you make every effort in your life to spend more time standing or walking to lower your chances of developing a chronic health condition.