Did you know that you can suffer from chronic diseases from prolonged sitting? Yes. In fact, evidence shows that the lack of movement or inactivity, particularly sitting for too long is a risk factor for very ill health. That applies even if you consider yourself fit.
There are about 10,000 studies that show how sitting harms one’s health, regardless of his or her exercise programs and other lifestyle habits.
You may be wondering just how much inactivity affects your health. Well for starters, it raises ill health risk by an astounding 114 percent. It increases your risk of suffering from depression by 150 percent, of Alzheimer’s disease by 82 percent, of lung cancer by 50 percent, and of uterine and colon cancer by 66 and 30 percent.
So, what is the remedy, you ask? It is actually pretty simple. Avoid sitting for too long and add some movement into your day to day life! If you would like more information on how to lead a healthier lifestyle, you can drop by Sloan Natural Health Center for a consultation. Also, there are a lot of excellent books published that discuss the subject.
HOW DOES SITTING FOR TOO LONG HARM YOU?
There are a number of ways inactivity affects your general health. One foundation of harm is highly associated to the molecular cascades that happen when you are standing. Did you know that when you stand for 90 seconds, your cellular and muscular systems are activated and they begin to process your blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglycerides?
Insulin influences most of these systems. Now as you know, one of the benefits of exercising is an improved sensitivity of the insulin receptor which lowers your insulin resistance. Compared to sitting, even the simple act of standing has its benefits. Sitting for over eight hours, unfortunately, increases the risk of Type 2 diabetes by about 90 percent.
Your body is designed to be active and neglecting to do some physical activities will definitely result in some health concerns. Sitting impairs molecular activities that are needed for optimal health and biological functions. That of course, is almost like staging your body to welcome diseases. In short, while it is true that your body needs rest, the rest should be breaking up regular activity instead of the other way around.
Inactivity should not be a major part of your lifestyle. Sitting too much turns off your natural fueling systems and also slows down your metabolism. As a result, there are imbalances in your cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar. Additionally, most sitting postures are bad for your back, as well as other parts of your body. This leads to chronic pain.
You may think taking pills will solve all of these problems, but that is simply not the solution. The key is to strive to sit for less than three hours and as much as possible, walk more. Make sure that you make the recommended 7,000 to 10,000 steps. Of course, incorporating a fitness routine is also a great idea!
