Why sitting is hazardous to your health…
Sitting is a favourite pastime in North America. We sit in our cars, sit at our desks, lounge around in endless meetings and when we get home, guess what? We plunk down in front of the tele or computer.
According to a survey "Americans are sitting an average of 13 hours a day and sleeping an average of 8 hours resulting in a sedentary lifestyle of around 21 hours a day." Does that sound like you? Be honest, I won't tell! Whether you admit it or not, most of us spend way too much time in the sitting position.
So what's wrong with sitting? I could quote umpteen articles that show that sitting is hazardous to our health but as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words so I will let this graphic from the Washington Post do the 'talking'. For full explanation of the hazards, check out the original source.
So what can you do about the hazards of sitting? The exercises illustrated above help to counteract a sedentary lifestyle. But to really tackle the problem, you need to reduce the time you spend sitting around. There are many creative ways to cut out sitting….walk/bike, roller blade to work or at least part of the way; use an exercise ball or treadmill desk instead of an office chair; walk during meetings rather than sit in stuffy boardrooms; and go for a walk after dinner instead of sitting in front of the television. Borrow a pedometer from us to keep track! These measures go a long way to combat the hazards of sitting.
For more information, check out the featured books below. Or perhaps you would like to acquire a more ergonomically designed chair? Even better, explore mindful uses for the much maligned chair…
2 thoughts on “Why sitting is hazardous to your health…”
The cat and cow yoga postures are great counter poses to long stretches of sitting. A more advanced pose is the wheel yoga pose – you’ll instantly feel the difference especially if you sit all day.
As a truck driver, you are sitting for hours and days at a time, depending on the job. Injury such as back aches often plague truck drivers, unless you take measures such as taking breaks, doing stretches, using proper seat cushions, and getting proper rest, etc.