How Sitting Is Killing You

Of course we've all had a sneaking suspicion that being sedentary probably isn't that great for us. However, many may be shocked at just how much extended periods of sitting down are really hurting you.

Humanity's ancestors used to hunt, gather crops and roam from land to land by foot. Now a national average for people sitting down is 9.3 hours a day. We just aren't built for it and it's slowly killing us all. As obesity and diseases associated with it skyrocket it's clear that something needs to change.

So just what kind of risks are associated with prolonged periods of sitting down? From the moment you first sit down several things happen to your body. Electrical activity in your legs completely shuts down, your body's calorie burning drops to just 1 calorie per minute and the enzymes that help break down fat drop a whooping 90 percent.

Yikes right? Sitting for 2 hours at a time and good cholesterol drops 20% and sitting or laying down over 24 hours insulin effectiveness drops and risk for diabetes rises. In fact, people sitting down for over 6 hours a days are 40 percent more likely to die in the next 15 years then someone who sits only 3 hours a day.

In addition people who sit down for more then 3 hours or more of TV a day are 64 percent more likely to die from heart disease. 64 PERCENT! Those are not small numbers my friend.

If, like me, your a office worker and you play video games or watch TVs you may be borderline panicking right now. I know when I first read this that I was. It's not realistic that I would quit my job and not watching TV or enjoying video games at all is out of the question.

Luckily, I have good news and it doesn't involve massive amounts of working out or dropping some of your favorite things. While sitting you drastically increase your help and reduce your chances for these things by standing for 1-2 minutes every hour. That's it. You don't even have to move though moving is certainly encouraged. In fact a good idea is to: march in place 20 seconds, touch your toes for 20 seconds, walk back and forth for 20 seconds behind your chair.

While this may make you look slightly unbalanced it will help you to lower risks so if anyone laughs at you the jokes on them. Also you need to get 30 minutes of moderate activity a day. That doesn't mean hitting the gym (though if your trying to lose weight it's a very good idea), but simple things like parking further away from shopping centers or in your job. Take the elevator instead of the stairs or walk the long way to the bathroom. The 30 minutes of activity recommended don't even have to be at one time and can be split up through the day.

From now on I plan on using a outlook reminder at work to stand up once an hour and move about and at home I plan to do so during commercials with TV and on loading screens for video games.

Remember, it's the little things that help you build up to big successes.

Please check out my source below, from the Medical and Billing Coding website, for the information above and for some terrifyingly informative pictures.


Via: Medical Billing And Coding

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