Research has linked sitting for long periods of time with a number of health concerns. They include obesity and a cluster of conditions — increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist and unhealthy cholesterol levels — that make up metabolic syndrome.
Sitting or lying down for too long increases your risk of chronic health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. Too much sitting can also be bad for your mental health. Being active is not as hard as you think. There are lots of simple ways to include some physical activity in your day.
This is called muscle atrophy, and can undo any hard work you've done to build a strong, sturdy behind. Not to mention make those squats feel way harder than they used to. Too much sitting can even change the shape of your butt. Years of sitting can potentially change the shape of your booty over time.
LOW risk indicates sitting less than 4 hours per day. MEDIUM risk indicates sitting 4 to 8 hours per day. HIGH risk indicates sitting 8 to 11 hours per day. VERY HIGH risk indicates sitting more than 11 hours per day.
But when experts analyze the handfuls of studies examining the effects of prolonged sitting, the data shows that sitting for more than eight hours a day can have a serious impact on a person's health.
Effects of Standing
Prolonged standing is defined as over 8 hours of standing per day without a lot of movement and walking around. Jobs that require standing all day are commonly associated with lower back pain, issues with leg muscles and tendons, and chronic venous insufficiency.
For each hour we sit, we can theoretically knock two hours off our life. In a recent Australian study, results indicated longer periods of sitting (more than 8 hours a day) correlated with a higher mortality rate than those who spend three hours or less in a chair, even for those who were highly active.
Mental health conditions that one should be looking at in case it interferes with daily life are anxiety, ADHD or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, bipolar disorders, and even depression. Anxiety is also one of the primary causes as it leads to the feeling of being 'unsettled'.
But when you are sitting down for long periods, try to break it up. A common sense rule of thumb is to get up for five minutes every half hour.”
“Sitting all day will make the front of your body tighten up—especially your hip flexors, rectus femoris (a quad muscle), pectoralis (chest), upper traps (upper back), and anterior scalenes (the front of your neck),” explains David Reavy, a Chicago-based orthopedic physical therapist at React Physical Therapy.
Research has linked sitting for long periods of time with a number of health concerns. They include obesity and a cluster of conditions — increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist and unhealthy cholesterol levels — that make up metabolic syndrome.
The amount of shortening added up to about eight years of aging, the scientists estimated—meaning that inactive women who spent more time sitting were about eight years older, on average, than those who were inactive but spent less time sedentary.
Many people don't know that this seemingly benign activity is life-threatening. Sitting a lot not only makes your butt dark and belly fat, but can also cause long-term effects on your body's health.
To reverse the effects of too much sitting on our bodies, we need to increase our energy expenditure throughout the day by exercising and reducing the time of prolonged sitting.
The average American sits 8 hours a day. That is quite a stretch of time when our bodies could benefit from movement, physical activity or even standing. This sedentary period of time, researchers have found, can increase our risk of obesity, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, cancer and even death.
The 30/60 Rule
The rule is based on the research finding that after sitting for longer than 30 minutes, metabolic disturbances start occurring in the body that impair fat burning, glucose regulation, and health. After every 30 minutes of sitting consecutively, you should get up and perform 60 seconds of any activity.
Prolonged periods of sedentary behavior, defined as any activity in a seated or reclined posture, can seriously damage the back and spine and increase blood pressure. Symptoms of anxiety and depression have long been linked to sedentary lifestyles.
sedentary. adjective. sed·en·tary ˈsed-ᵊn-ˌter-ē : doing or requiring much sitting : characterized by a lack of physical activity. increased risk of heart disease for those with sedentary jobs.
Including exercise and physical activity, people across the U.S. only spend approximately 3 hours out of the day simply standing. This phenomenon has been coined as “Sitting Disease,” which, broadly speaking, is defined as a condition of increased sedentary behavior associated with adverse health effects.
It can be due to reduced blood flow, tight muscles and ligaments, fluid pooled in the body's lower extremities, or pins and needles sensations in the feet.
To get the right balance, Hedge recommends sitting 20 minutes out of every half hour at work, standing for eight minutes and moving around for at least two minutes. Although there is really no harm in spending more time in motion, you may be pretty tired by the end of the day if you do, Hedge said.
Remember to move for approximately three minutes every 30 – 60 minutes. Why? Research shows that staying stationary – whether sitting or standing – for long periods of time, can be bad for your health. Our bodies are built to move and doing so for approximately three minutes every hour helps us feel our best.