Are you in a bad sit-uation?
Many Americans sit for eight to 10 hours a day — to the detriment of their back, hips, waistline and heart. Sitting for extended periods can lead to obesity, muscle weakening, spinal stress, poor blood sugar regulation and decreased blood circulation throughout the body.
“Sitting is actually aging you faster,” Katy Bowman, a biomechanist and author of “My Perfect Movement Plan,” told The New York Times on Thursday.
The American Heart Association warns that excessive sedentary time increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes and early death.
And a UC San Diego study published in February found that older women who sat more than 11 hours a day had a 57% higher risk of premature death than those who sat less than nine and a half hours a day.
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans state that adults should aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and two days of muscle strengthening a week.
But as University of Houston muscle physiology professor Marc Hamilton noted last year, “30 minutes a day of exercise can’t immunize you from what you do the other 23-and-a-half hours.”
“Our bodies were built to move all day,” Hamilton continued. “They weren’t built to be idle and stationary with a metabolic rate similar to a person in a coma.”
Experts shared with the Times four ways to pull yourself out of your sedentary slump — even if you need to work from a computer all day.
Be more active
Dr. Geoffrey Whitfield, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the Times that people who sit a lot should exercise more, perhaps even an hour a day.
Walking can do wonders for the body. The low-impact exercise burns calories, reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke, lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, strengthens the heart and leg muscles, improves bone density, boosts mood, relieves stress and enhances sleep.
If you’re looking for more of a challenge, try walking on an elevated terrain or uphill, moving to the beat of a fast-paced song, incorporating short bursts of speed walking or jogging or wearing a weighted vest.
Make time to move
Set a timer to make sure you move at the office, even if it’s doing something small like marching in place.
Park as far away as you can, grab water from the farthest fountain or take the stairs instead of the elevator to sneak in more steps.
Or you may want to invest in a desk treadmill.
Consider a standing desk
A standing desk may allow for more movement and burn more energy, but buyer beware.
New research out of Australia found that over the long term, standing doesn’t improve cardiovascular health compared to sitting and could actually increase the risk of vein problems and blood clots.
Fidget
Even while sitting, you can tap your toes, flex your feet, roll your ankles, extend your legs or do some upper-body stretches.
“Read your email with your arms stretching overhead or while twisting your shoulders to the right and left,” Bowman advised.
Other experts who talked to the Times recommended changing your body position every 15 to 30 minutes, adjusting your leg, pelvis and spine positions, and alternating between 30 minutes of work standing and 30 minutes seated.
