5 reasons to get off your butt now
Most office or WFH jobs require people to work while they sit for a long period with only a few minutes break.
Sitting for too long is very dangerous to your health and also to your body.
The body requires one to be mobile and active.
Nine to ten hours of inactiveness will not be counteracted even if you did one hour of exercise, so it is important to take a break from time to time and either stretch, walk around or even work while standing for a few minutes.
The following are some of the effects of sitting for too long:
1. Posture problems
While working when you are seated, you will lean forward as you work on a computer and this leads to strained back, neck, and shoulders.
With more sitting hours, you also put more pressure on the spine, and this makes you have back pain.
The discs of the backbone are compressed, and they lose flexibility and this therefore causes back pains and you will also have posture problems as you risk herniated discs.
2. Degeneration of the muscles
Immediately you sit down, the muscles also take a rest as they remain unused.
The hip muscles become tight and limited in motion as they are not extended, and the glutes become weak, which affects your stability and power as you walk or jump and may cause falls.
3. Unhealthy Weight Gain
The moment you sit down, the energy consumption goes low, and the body burns one calorie per minute.
The more hours you sit, the insulin is raised in the body which increases the risk of getting type 2 diabetes.
The levels of the good cholesterol (HDL) in the body dip and there is an increase in the LDL (bad) cholesterol because the muscle burns less fat and this leads to weight gain where you may risk getting obesity.
If you feel sleepy and can’t get up, try having a cup of energizing herbal concentrate tea to help boost metabolism and lose those excess calories while you sit.
4. Affects Digestion
When you sit down after eating, the food compresses and slows down digestion, which leads to indigestion, bloating, heartburn and constipation.
Due to microbial imbalances, the gastrointestinal tract gets dysbiosis.
5. Harm To Body Organs
When you sit down for long, there is a slow blood flow and less burning of fat, which leads to fatty acids clogging your heart hence risking heart disease or heart attack.
The pancreas produces too much insulin, which can result in diabetes.
Too much sitting may also cause cancer of the colon, endometrial and breast because of the excessive production of insulin, which encourages the growth of cancer cells in the body.
To avoid the above damages to your body, you should constantly get your butt off every 30 minutes from sitting and become mobile for at least 3 minutes.
Stand and stretch every part of the body so that you can create enough stimuli which prevent catabolism.
If you can’t stand and stretch due to the type of work, you can do isometric squats as you sit where you push your heels into the floor or do squats while in the bathroom.
You could also have adjustable desks and chairs which will allow you to adjust your working level which will not affect your posture.
If you are really hard pressed for time during working hours, why not join our outdoor group exercise?
We are having a free trial at Punggol, Buangkok and Bukit Batok in Singapore. It helps to kickstart a healthier lifestyle and get to know more friends in our friendly community.
