You and Your Health - Is sitting too much killing you?
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- Published on Thursday, June 14, 2018
Photo property of Metro Creative Connections
Sitting can be very hard on the human body.
By Dr. Mark Perrett
BSCs DC Chiropractor
As I am sitting here writing this blog about how too much sitting is equal to the negative health effects of smoking I can鈥檛 help thinking I should be pacing around with my laptop!
It is scary when you read the facts of how sedentary adults, and especially children, are in today鈥檚 tech world. Our goal at the Neepawa Chiropractic and Massage Centre is to keep people active and I hope this blog motivates you to push away from that desk and get moving!
How much
do we sit?
鈥�We are now sitting more then ever (average of 9.3- 11 hours per day).
鈥�1/3 of Canadians sit more than nine hours per day.
鈥n average, we sit longer in a day than we sleep (7.7 hours per day).
鈥he average Canadian adult watches TV for 16.2 hours a week.
鈥ids on average are sitting at a screen three hours on a school day of the week.
鈥anadians on average only get 15 per cent of the recommended amount of daily exercise.
From an evolution perspective, it took us two million years to stand and 200 years to go from three hours of sitting to 9-11 hours! We wake up, sit for breakfast, sit for our commute to work, settle into the desk for the day, sit on our commute home, then for supper, then after supper to watch the Winnipeg Jets play, then it is off to bed. As you can see, it isn鈥檛 hard to sit over nine hours in a day and lead a sedentary lifestyle.
The side effects of
sitting too much
Listed below are just a few of the crazy negative health effects of living a sedentary lifestyle. The one that amazes me the most is that if you sit for more that eight hours a day, exercising for an hour will not reverse the negative effects of sitting. It explains when I have a patient in that is trying to lose weight and is starting to exercise every day but can鈥檛 seem to shed those pounds. We have to keep active!
鈥itting 6+ hours per day makes you 40 per cent more likely to die within 15 years compared to someone who sits less than three hours per day, even if you exercise!
鈥here is physical changes in our DNA and it shrinks.
鈥erve and blood flow to the legs dramatically decreases.
鈥itting when driving affects organ structure and placement.
鈥rain activity decreases, depression rises, and productivity goes down.
鈥fter 24 hours of sitting the effect of insulin drops 24 per cent.
鈥fter two hours of sitting, your 鈥済ood鈥� cholesterol drops 20 per cent.
鈥he enzymes that help break down fat drop 90 per cent after six hours of sitting.
鈥eople who sit for more than eight hours a day have a 64 per cent higher rate of heart attacks, two to three times the rate of heart disease and diabetes.
How do we fix
the problem?
The answer to lowering your risk of negative health outcomes due to too much sitting seems like a simple solution - just get moving. However this can be very difficult if your job requires you to sit at a computer all day. The solution is to find ways to get out from your desk every hour. The research varies on what the magic amount of time is per hour for you to get up and move from your desk, but the minimum should be at least five minutes per hour. Stand up desks are a great solution, but not the ultimate answer. Standing is also sedentary and it also comes with negative health effects if done too much. Definitely having the option of standing and sitting at your desk is the best. Here are some strategies you can try in your work day:
鈥ecognize times or tasks that will break up long periods of sitting
鈥ake designated mini breaks - Five min/hr and productivity goes up!
鈥alking or stand-up meetings - these are 15 per cent more productive!
鈥tand to have lunch or get outside for a walking lunch.
鈥hange where the printer (and other items) is located so you need to walk.
鈥o inter-office emails - get up and go to the person鈥檚 office.
鈥hange work stations
鈥tanding work stations, treadmill station.
鈥ead sets for the phone so you can move with long calls.
鈥ake the stairs instead of the elevator.
鈥se tech to remind you to do some simple desk exercises or to get up.
Lets get active!
