Women and men that sit for six or more hours a day are 40% and 20% more likely to die within 15 years than their brothers and sisters who sit for less than three hours a day, independent of whether they exercise or not. People with sitting jobs have twice the rate of cardiovascular disease as people with non-sitting jobs. People who sit most of the day are 54% more likely to die of a heat attack.
All of those statistics are true. And while correlation is not causation, there is clearly something to the notion that excessive sitting is harmful.
Intuitively, it makes sense that being sedentary is not healthy. When you sit, you feel like a blob. Your muscles aren't working, you can feel your posture go down the drain, and your energy seems to dip.
Immediately upon sitting down, several things happen inside the body. The electrical activity inside the legs shuts off, calorie burning drops to 1 per minute, and the activity of an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase drops by 90%.
Lipoprotein lipase is crucial to the body's ability to process fats. Low levels of lipoprotein lipase are associated with a whole host of health problems, including heart disease.
Prolonged sitting is where the real trouble is. When sitting for several hours, that means several hours of no electrical activity in the legs, virtually nonexistent caloric expenditure, and low lipoprotein lipase levels. Insulin sensitivity also decreases more with each sitting minute. Research done at the the Pennington Biomedical Research Center shows that after a full day of being sedentary, insulin sensitivity is lowered by an average of 40%.
These problems are the result of sitting specifically, rather than low calorie expenditure. It is commonly thought that exercising before or after work can undo what happens when sitting at work for eight hours each day. Exercising before or after work is a very healthy habit, however it should be thought of separately from sitting. Sitting for hours on end has specific consequences that are independent of activity level. This is shown by studies showing the harmful effects of extended sitting and finding no difference in those that exercise and those that do not.
Intuitively, it makes sense that being sedentary is not healthy. When you sit, you feel like a blob. Your muscles aren't working, you can feel your posture go down the drain, and your energy seems to dip.
Immediately upon sitting down, several things happen inside the body. The electrical activity inside the legs shuts off, calorie burning drops to 1 per minute, and the activity of an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase drops by 90%.
Lipoprotein lipase is crucial to the body's ability to process fats. Low levels of lipoprotein lipase are associated with a whole host of health problems, including heart disease.
Prolonged sitting is where the real trouble is. When sitting for several hours, that means several hours of no electrical activity in the legs, virtually nonexistent caloric expenditure, and low lipoprotein lipase levels. Insulin sensitivity also decreases more with each sitting minute. Research done at the the Pennington Biomedical Research Center shows that after a full day of being sedentary, insulin sensitivity is lowered by an average of 40%.
These problems are the result of sitting specifically, rather than low calorie expenditure. It is commonly thought that exercising before or after work can undo what happens when sitting at work for eight hours each day. Exercising before or after work is a very healthy habit, however it should be thought of separately from sitting. Sitting for hours on end has specific consequences that are independent of activity level. This is shown by studies showing the harmful effects of extended sitting and finding no difference in those that exercise and those that do not.
Many activities necessitate being fairly static, such as writing a blog post. There are a few ways to mitigate the harm done by sitting.
Standing desks are becoming more popular as more people are waking up to the realization that sitting has negative health effects. I enjoy standing while surfing the internet or writing on my laptop. However, after standing for a couple hours I notice my posture slowly deteriorating. Standing with poor posture is likely better than sitting with poor posture, but neither is ideal. Standing endurance needs to be built up too, so even standing for two hours may be unrealistic at first.
When my posture starts to slip when standing, I turn to my yoga ball. Sitting on a yoga ball allows for better posture than a typical office chair as well as more muscle engagement than a typical office chair.
A third way to combat the effects of sitting is to move more during time normally spent sitting. Getting up and stretching or walking really does make a difference. Being more active in general while sitting is beneficial too. Tapping a foot to music, dancing, or bouncing on a yoga ball signals to the body that you aren't being completely sedentary.
Finding ways to sit less is the best strategy to employ to avoid the consequences of extended sitting. If sitting less is not an option for you, then setting up a standing workstation, yoga ball workstation, and moving around more while working are the best solutions. Spend less time being still and don't let yourself become a sitting statistic.
Zuckswert, Amber. "Sitting Kills: This Will Make You Want To Move." EpicSelf. N.p., 7 Nov. 2011. Web. <http://epicself.com/move/sitting-kills-this-will-make-you-want-to-move/>.
Vlahos, James. "WHAT'S THE MOST UNHEALTHFUL THING YOU DO EVERY DAY?" The New York Times. N.p., 17 Apr. 2011. Web. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17sitting-t.html?_r=3>.
Judson, Olivia. "Stand Up While You Read This!" The New York Times. N.p., 23 Feb. 2010. Web. <http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/stand-up-while-you-read-this/>.
Walsh, Bryan. "Sitting All Day Isn't Good For You." Time. N.p., 13 Apr. 2011. Web. <http://healthland.time.com/2011/04/13/the-dangers-of-sitting-at-work%E2%80%94and-standing/>.
Standing desks are becoming more popular as more people are waking up to the realization that sitting has negative health effects. I enjoy standing while surfing the internet or writing on my laptop. However, after standing for a couple hours I notice my posture slowly deteriorating. Standing with poor posture is likely better than sitting with poor posture, but neither is ideal. Standing endurance needs to be built up too, so even standing for two hours may be unrealistic at first.
When my posture starts to slip when standing, I turn to my yoga ball. Sitting on a yoga ball allows for better posture than a typical office chair as well as more muscle engagement than a typical office chair.
A third way to combat the effects of sitting is to move more during time normally spent sitting. Getting up and stretching or walking really does make a difference. Being more active in general while sitting is beneficial too. Tapping a foot to music, dancing, or bouncing on a yoga ball signals to the body that you aren't being completely sedentary.
Finding ways to sit less is the best strategy to employ to avoid the consequences of extended sitting. If sitting less is not an option for you, then setting up a standing workstation, yoga ball workstation, and moving around more while working are the best solutions. Spend less time being still and don't let yourself become a sitting statistic.
Zuckswert, Amber. "Sitting Kills: This Will Make You Want To Move." EpicSelf. N.p., 7 Nov. 2011. Web. <http://epicself.com/move/sitting-kills-this-will-make-you-want-to-move/>.
Vlahos, James. "WHAT'S THE MOST UNHEALTHFUL THING YOU DO EVERY DAY?" The New York Times. N.p., 17 Apr. 2011. Web. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17sitting-t.html?_r=3>.
Judson, Olivia. "Stand Up While You Read This!" The New York Times. N.p., 23 Feb. 2010. Web. <http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/stand-up-while-you-read-this/>.
Walsh, Bryan. "Sitting All Day Isn't Good For You." Time. N.p., 13 Apr. 2011. Web. <http://healthland.time.com/2011/04/13/the-dangers-of-sitting-at-work%E2%80%94and-standing/>.