Modern society has somehow found a way to incorporate sitting into almost every aspect of our day to day lives. In fact, there is a good chance that you are probably sitting while reading this. With COVID-19 and the transition to working and learning from home, the opportunities to remain chair-bound are higher than it was ever before.
Though seemingly harmless – and a whole lot easier – to remain in your chair all day, prolonged sitting actually has health consequences on almost every aspect of your body from your muscles to your heart to even your digestion. Keep reading to find out more – you may consider standing up for this!
Poor spine health: Research shows that sitting puts more pressure on your spine than standing does. The longer you stay seated, the more likely your posture will begin to decline – the most common problems being slouching and forward head posture. Bad posture has many health implications for your spine including an increased risk of spinal decay, muscle stiffness, and chronic back pain.
Poor hip health: The sitting position naturally forces muscles of the hips to shorten and tighten. Your hip flexors play a crucial role in movement and support by connecting your spine to your legs. For this reason, tight hips have negative consequences for the entire body such as impediment of simple movements (i.e bending and standing), lower back pain, poor posture, and muscle imbalances.
Dead butt syndrome: When your hips shorten and tighten, your glutes will try to compensate by lengthening and relaxing. If this continues, your butt muscles will become weak and its ability to activate properly may be compromised, leading to a condition called gluteal amnesia, or “dead butt syndrome.” Your glutes play an essential role in supporting the pelvis, and weak butt muscles can lead to hip bursitis , knee pain, problems with balance, and lower back pain.
Poor bone health: Bone remodeling is a process that helps to maintain and improve bone health – especially as we age – by replacing old bone tissue with new bone tissue. Weight-bearing and resistance activities that force you to work against gravity helps aid in this process. Prolonged sitting, on the other hand, slows down this process, putting you at a higher risk for developing bone disorders such as osteoporosis.
Weakened muscles: When you are sitting, you are disengaging several of your body’s major muscle groups, especially those in your legs and glutes. Your lower body muscles are crucial for strength, endurance, and stability when in the upright position. If this continues, your muscle tissues may even begin to waste away, a condition known as muscle atrophy. Remember, if you don’t use them, you lose them.
Poor circulation: Prolonged sitting leads to poor circulation throughout your body causing blood to pool in your legs. This can lead to swelling and numbness in your legs, feet, and ankles. If continued over an extended period of time, it may also lead to leg ulcers, varicose veins, and in some rare cases, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a serious medical condition that occurs when a blood clot forms in a vein. Outside of the legs, poor circulation may also cause fatigue, digestive issues, cramping, and difficulty concentrating.
Poor digestion: Sitting compresses your abdomen which can slow down digestion and lead to unwanted side effects such as bloating, heartburn, stomach discomfort, and excess gas. In addition, compression of the diaphragm from poor posture prevents the organ from properly passing food through to the stomach, leading to acid reflux. The decrease in blood flow to the gut caused by sitting coupled with the compression of your digestive organs can lead to bowel problems such as inflammatory bowel disease and constipation.
Diabetes: Insulin is responsible for breaking down glucose into energy to fuel your muscles, and helps to maintain blood glucose levels by storing excess sugar in your liver. Sitting requires minimal muscle usage, and the reduced need for glucose may eventually lead to insulin resistance, which causes your pancreas to secrete more insulin as compensation. Over time, this causes your blood glucose to rise, putting you at risk for type 2 diabetes.
Cardiovascular diseases: Studies have indicated that exercise may be associated with a more favorable lipid profile. Exercise stimulates enzymes that help move low density lipoproteins (LDL) – the “bad cholesterol – to the liver where it is secreted from the body. Excess cholesterol in the form of LDL can start to build up in the arteries and form plaques, leading to atherosclerosis and other heart problems. In addition, exercise also helps to reduce blood pressure by strengthening your heart – a stronger heart can pump blood with less effort. Prolonged sitting has been linked to high blood pressure, another risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.
Weight gain: An inactive lifestyle puts you higher at risk for weight gain and obesity. Sitting does not expend nearly as much energy as standing does, significantly lowering the amount of calories that you are burning per day. Even if you are being active for the remaining part of your day, research shows that sitting is a risk factor for obesity independent of outside physical activity. Physical inactivity also slows down your metabolism, slowing down your body’s ability to burn calories and body fat.
Do you feel like sitting now? Prolong sitting has major consequences on your entire body, but not to worry, there are many simple and easy changes you can make in your day to day routine to fix this! Check out this great article by Health Fitness Revolution to find out 9 things you can do to reduce that sitting time and improve your overall health!
