More than 34 million Americans have office or sales jobs, where they have to spend at least 8 hours a day sitting. Annals of Internal Medicine published a study which found that the average person spends more than half of their waking hours in an inactive state.
Any extended sitting — such as at a desk, behind a wheel or in front of a screen — can be harmful, as it leads to serious health issues and raises the risk of diseases like obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.
A study conducted by 4 experts confirmed the negative consequences of prolonged sitting, as follows:
— The poor posture our body gets while sitting in front of the computer puts a tremendous strain on the neck and the cervical vertebrae, which leads to shoulder and neck issues, as well as back pain
— Sitting too long during the day raises the risk of colon cancer, heart disease, weight gain, and colon cancer
— It reduces the blood circulation in the legs, so it pools around the ankles, leading to swollen ankles, varicose veins, and blood clots
— By sitting too long, the hip flexor muscles become tense and short, the glute muscles soften, and this causes muscle degeneration
— Sedentary lifestyles cause disk damage, inflexible spines, herniated lumbar disks, and back pain, as the disks become uneven, and collagen accumulates around the tendons
— Sitting for too long during the day slows the oxygen and blood flow to the brains, reducing our capacity to think clearly
Edward R. Laskowski, M.D. agrees that less sitting leads to better health, so he suggests simply standing rather than sitting whenever possible throughout the day.
He also suggests taking a break from sitting every 30 minutes, standing while talking on the phone, walk with the colleagues for meetings rather than sitting in the conference room, or even buying a standing desk. He also says that it would be beneficial to position the work surface above a treadmill.
The effects of movement can be profound, it will initially burn calories and lead to weight loss and more energy, and with time, it will maintain muscle tone, and boost the body strength, and the mental well-being.
