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Is Sitting the New Smoking?

  • Cheryl Morton
  • Jul 17, 2024
  • 3 min read

Increased risk of type two diabetes, increased risk of muscle degeneration, increased risk of heart disease, weight gain, neck pain, lower back pain and pelvic floor dysfunction. Sounds like quality of life might just drop through the floor there doesn’t it?… But all of these issues don’t stem from traumatic impact, from training badly or from one specific condition. Excessive inactivity is the culprit, specifically sitting at a desk. You can picture the archetypal position of a human at a singular desk tapping away at a laptop, using a phone or even reading a book, hunched over, arms outstretched and the spine curved into a c-shape resembling the chair. Imagine if you’re watching TV or eating an unhealthy meal too, paints a picture that many would like to avoid. The average American spends around thirteen hours a day sitting, for most people, it’s tough to imagine working for thirteen hours, let alone to sit and vegetate. The buzz term for the past few years regarding sitting has described it as the “new smoking” which can sound harsh, as smoking has a massively publicised high mortality rate, but another consequence of sitting excessively is obesity, which is a big cancer indicator, is responsible for nearly one in seven deaths in Europe. But there is a solution, so if you’re sitting at a desk reading this and have the urge to not encourage the development of any of the previously mentioned conditions (which I would hope is all of you) don’t go calling Human Resources to request that standing desk just yet… It would be really easy to say that exercise can solve the issues, but it can’t. Much in the same way that saving up all your available alcohol consumption units and bingeing it all in one evening is bad for you, a high volume of exercise mixed with a high volume of sitting won’t cut it. You have to make small, manageable changes that won’t ruin your body in other ways. My first tip is to factor in walking more during your day, go outside for your breaks. Ten thousand steps is a great place to start so try and accrue them through the day and if you haven’t managed this by the end of the day, find a park, walk around it. It’ll do wonders for your mental health too to take time out. Second tip: Learn to move well. Take a yoga class, you will learn how to stretch your body. The benefits of yoga are astoundingly vast but specifically you will learn how to release tension in your neck and head, open and stretch out your chest and hip area. There are countless studies on yoga’s effect of every single condition mentioned above. Granted it won’t cause you to lose a lot of weight, but It will improve your overall mortality rate infinity more than binge watching another episode of Stranger Things. Third and final tip: Basic body maintenance. Take time for yourself, book a massage. Have a professional assess your body regularly and put a plan in place to maintain your mechanics, body position and posture. This is invaluable, in todays culture we outsource everything and I suggest making the investment. You wouldn’t drive your car in the red for miles, so don’t do the same with your body. Book in now via the website to see one of our expert professionals and give your body the MOT it deserves!



 
 
 

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