We all know that, unless you are a wheelchair user, sitting all day is really bad for us. The human body wasn’t designed to be as inactive as our modern lifestyle dictates, and those of us who sit at a desk or behind the wheel for 8 hours a day are more vulnerable to the aches, pains and long-term diseases that come with a sedentary lifestyle. Sitting all day isn’t doing us any good.
Thankfully, if you do have to sit all day for work (or even if you like to spend your evenings on the sofa watching tv), there are some good habits that you can start to introduce to make you generally healthier and more productive in your day.
What does sitting for long periods of time do to us?
Sitting all day is at best, linked to skeletal and muscular issues like back and shoulder pain, and at worst a direct route into chronic health diseases like cancer, stokes, heart conditions and diabetes.
Sitting for long periods is thought to slow the metabolism, which affects the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar, blood pressure and break down body fat. Sitting isn’t weight bearing, so can lead to weaker bones and muscles which in turn can encourage the development of osteoporosis and broken bones in older age.
Current research doesn’t suggest how long is too long when it comes to sitting - so we don’t yet know if there is an ‘acceptable’ amount of hours of sitting each day. What we do know is that more movement and less sitting is the mantra we should all use in our everyday life.
Moving habits for every day
We have to be realistic about lifestyle changing, as for many of us it’s impossible to suddenly swap our desk jobs for one that allows us to walk around being active all day. The good news is, the research says that there are some really easy habits you can adopt to improve your health - some of which you can do while sitting at your desk!
Have a go at incorporating some of these simple habits into your day and you’ll soon start to see and feel the health benefits.
** Get up every 30 minutes if you can for just a light, 5 minute walk. This has been shown to significantly reduce blood sugar levels, reducing the blood sugar spike after eating by almost 60 per cent compared to sitting down.
** Take the stairs - avoid the lift or escalators, and walk when you can (taking a phone call, chatting to a colleague, on the bus etc). You’ll get your step count up and enjoy the benefits of the cardio and weigh bearing exercise this brings.
** Use an under desk pedal exerciser. Believe it or not, pedalling at gentle pace can burn approximately 100 calories each day on average. So that’s 500 calories per day for five days a week. You’ll also increase the blood and oxygen flow around your body while you’re replying to emails etc, which will hugely improve your concentration and productivity.
We’re huge fans of using a pedal exerciser for people who have to sit for long periods. Once you get into the habit of using the pedals while sitting, you’ll be amazed how it becomes second nature and you’ll soon see and feel the incredible health benefits that come with it.
** Keep active while watching TV. You don’t need to slump on the sofa to enjoy your favourite shows. Why not do some standing stretches or some strength exercises with exercise bands during the ad breaks or while you’re waiting for the kettle to boil.
There’s always an opportunity to choose standing over sitting and to engage your muscles while you’re going about your day to day activities.
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January 2023