A modern world offer us easy jobs—jobs that does not require us to labor and sweat for money. The nature of our jobs has changed immensely and most of us spend a lot of time on our desk, rather than on the field.
Isn’t it a wonder why people in the past are likely to live longer than now? If you are a person who loves sitting for long hours, it’s time to change your lifestyle. Whether you are just lazy to stand and take a break to stretch or the work requires you to just sit, you can easily counteract this long sitting habit.
Long Sitting: What can it do to the Body?
Humans are made not to sit for 6 hours a day—and that’s a fact. Have you remembered in your childhood days, where you’re not allowed to be like a couch potato? Well, there’s really a big reason behind that.
Long sitting doesn’t only give you diseases like diabetes, heart disease, thrombosis (blood clots in your arteries), but simply put, it leads to death. Dr. Emma Wilmot, the one who lead the study about long-hour sitting said, “It was clear that those who sat the most had a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease and death than those who sat the least.”
On a recent study it shows that those who have more time sitting in a day have a 50% increased risk of death with varying causes, and about 125% increased risk for heart attacks, angina (or chest pain) and other cardiovascular abnormalities.
How to Counteract the Effects of Long-Hour Sitting
The ultimate goal here is for you to prevent from sitting without breaks and increase activity. You may still sit about 6 or more hours per day, but not sit for 6 hours straight. Follow these tips to counteract the effects of long hour sitting in any way:
- Once in an hour, stand up and stretch a little bit.
- Every day, spare about 30 minutes of your time to do activities like walking.
- During Lunch Break, you can prefer to stand up while eating. You’ll not only get a decreased risk for diseases but also sexy waist.
- In meetings, suggest that you do it while standing.
- Have a moderate activity every once in a while like cleaning your house, or anything that will get you moving. This is based on what Dr. Brian Parr suggested.
- If you are watching TV, and that crappy commercial went on screen, you can make it as an excuse for yourself to stand and walk around the house.
Simple, isn’t it? But the effects of long hours of sitting are a serious thing. It’s like a matter of life and death but you’ll never notice it now until you feel the first symptoms. It is always better to prevent it by following these tips. Together with a healthy diet, you will be able to counteract the effects of long sitting for hours by keeping yourself moving.
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