Experts claim that you should at least move a little every half an hour. Even if you regularly exercise, you shouldn’t sit for excessive periods of time. According to a study issued Monday in Annals of Internal Medicine, sitting for too long can increase the risk of an early death.
Why? Well as scientists believe, there is a direct connection between the time you spend sitting and the exercises you do. As the total sitting time increases, so do the risk of an early death. As the American Heart Association claims, it is important for people to move more and sit less.
Otherwise, they will increase the risk of an early death.
It Matters
It is a fact that our bodies are designed for regular movement. However, not many people, especially Americans spend enough time walking. Instead, they spend their time sitting rather than exercising. According to research, an average US adult spends up to 10 hours sitting.
This is an excessive number of inactivity that proves how adults lead an unhealthy life in the US.
Katy Bowman, the author of the book: Move Your DNA: Restore Your Health Through Natural Movement, and who is a scientist for Organ Damage, suggests that the new category of people who are fit, actively lead a sedentary lifestyle.
It is a new trend to sit more than 10 hours without a single hour dedicated to exercise. On top of that, most adults don’t even want to spend some time walking. As a result, their bodies are in a literal sedentary state.
However, it is important to state that sitting is not dangerous. It is important how much you sit and how little you exercise. Of course, briefly sitting is natural and necessary, but sitting all day long can massively impact the health and shorten your life.
Dangers of Sitting
Here is what can happen if you sit all the time without a single minute of proper exercising.
1. Muscle Degradation
The moment we try to stand up or sit, we engage our core muscles in working. But if we sit slouched down on the chair for more than 10 hours, we will lose the strength in the abdomen and muscles and develop soft muscles.
As a result, we get a big fluffy and bloated belly. Furthermore, most people prefer to have a toned and slim belly. But, the more they sit, the less chance they have of losing that stubborn belly fat.
2. Type 2 Diabetes
This is a common condition where the body can’t process the glucose as it should. As a result, the pancreas starts to produce more and more insulin and later can’t produce enough of it. Of course, sitting is not the only thing that can cause diabetes type 2.
There are multiple causes for this condition, such as genetics and an unhealthy lifestyle. And since a sedentary lifestyle is considered unhealthy, it is best to avoid it and practice a more active life. In the long run, you will be able to improve your immune system and treat this condition.
3. Blood Clots
When we usually get injured, thick masses of blood clots start to form and stop the flow of blood. However, an injury is not the only thing that can cause blood clots. According to research, a sedentary lifestyle, pregnancy, and smoking can force the formation of blood clots.
4. Heart Attack or Angina
Angina is a condition that causes an extreme tightness in the chest. In some cases, it can even cause a heart attack. This happens due to a blood clot that starts to form in the coronary artery of the heart. So, as we mentioned before, a sedentary lifestyle can cause blood clots.
5. Dementia
Even though many people would disagree, dementia is a disease. Therefore, it is not only a term for describing the loss of memory and reasoning skills. Many other diseases can cause dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease and even vascular disease.
Since there is a connection between the blood flow and leading a sedentary lifestyle, this can impact the brain health.
6. Heart Disease
Keeping your body active can immensely boost your heart health. Therefore, leading a sedentary lifestyle can affect the blood flow, the heart, and even the veins. As a result, you should move more often to improve your circulation.
This way, you can prevent any damage to the blood vessels and heart that might lead to cardiovascular diseases.
7. Herniated Disk
The discs are tissues that separate the vertebrae in the spin. They are soft tissues that our body pushes out from between the vertebra. That is why our tummy muscles are there. They can help relieve some of the strain on the back and support us as we try to move.
So, by sitting for an excessive period, the muscles don’t activate and force the spine to work more. As a result, this causes the herniated disk to appear.
8. Cancer
There is a possibility that leading a sedentary lifestyle can cause a sore back and tight hip flexors. Also, it can develop cancer.
According to the interview conducted by the ABC News, the Senior Principal Research Fellow at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Dr. Neville Owen, said that if you are sitting for an excessive period, your muscles will turn big especially in the low parts of the body.
Since the muscles are not doing what they are supposed to do, the inactivity in the lower parts of the body can completely alter the body’s metabolism and create various biological signals. Scientists call this the biomarkers, or the biological signs.
These signs might help us shed some light on how cancer starts to develop.
Final Thoughts
Scientists believe that there are a number of health complications that can occur due to a sedentary lifestyle. Therefore, people should focus on leading a more active life if they want to lead a healthy life. Furthermore, exercises don’t have to be boring or time-consuming.
Instead, you can focus on doing an exercise that you love, like dancing, swimming, walking, or even playing a certain sport. But, don’t stay in the house if you have a chance to go out and do some workouts.
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