why sitting too much is bad for health?

Sedentary life or staying inactive – something people love to do to feel better ends up, in the long run, making them feel a lot worse. Living a sedentary life looks comfortable and less tiring, but it can be dangerous for your physical and mental health. Spending most of the time sitting on the desk in front of laptops, driving a car, studying without breaks or binge-watching your favorite series can give you a short term pleasure, but at a very high cost. Resting for too long may sound the best thing to do in leisure time, but a small physical activity in between is far more rewarding than this. Our body is not made for the prolonged sitting hours , and when we do that , the body will fight back for sure. Let’s check what sitting too much can do to our health.

“Believe what is productive is not sedentary but nomadic.” – Michel Foucault

Let’s check the cost of these prolonged sitting hours and how you have to pay for that leisure time later:

1. WELCOME THE EXTRA KGS: Sitting for too long will result in weight gain and will throw your weight goals just outside the window, even, if you’re exercising daily. All your efforts will go in vain if you spend the rest of your day being inactive and you’re also at a greater risk for metabolic syndrome. Staying active aids in digestion and will help your body to digest sugar and fats. Moving in between the long sitting hours will help you maintain a healthy weight.
2. GAINS WILL GO IN VAIN: Muscles are the healthiest and strongest when they’re being used and worked on a regular basis. Muscles are pliable but when they’re not put in use, they do get stiff. Practicing the inactive lifestyle for too long will make your body used to sitting and not as skilled at jumping, running, walking, or even standing. Put them in use to develop greater strength and ability to do normal activities.
3. SHAKY LEGS: Not putting the lower body in use will weaken the legs and glutes. Your gluteus muscles are the most important part of your lower body and prolonged sitting hours will harm them. Furthermore, without solid legs and glutes, our lower body gets incapable to hold us up when sitting down or keep us stable when strolling and bouncing, putting us in danger of injury. As it’s been said, on the off chance that you don’t utilize it, you lose it.
4. ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION: There’s a solid link between mental health and physical health, and prolonged sitting hours can damage physical health to a great extent. People who spend a lot of time sitting are missing the positive effects of physical activity and fitness. Sitting for a long time enables the brain to get enough blood and oxygen, which is essential for the brain to function optimally. A study followed 9,000 middle-aged women and determined that those who sat longer and did not meet minimum exercise requirements suffered from depression at much higher rates compared with the women who sat less and exercised more. When it came to sitting, those who sat for more than seven hours a day were 47 percent more likely to suffer from depression than those who sat four hours or fewer.
5. IT WILL HURT YOUR HEART: Sitting for long hours increases the risk of heart diseases.  One study found that men who spent more than 23 hours per week watching television had a 64 percent greater risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than men who only watched television for 11 hours. Experts say people who sit more have a 147 percent higher risk of suffering from a heart attack or stroke.
6. A BAD BACK: Just like your legs and gluteals, your hips and back will also create problems and will not support you as well if you sit for long hours.  Sitting causes your hip flexors to shorten, and your seated position can also hurt your back, particularly if you have bad. Also, poor posture while sitting can cause compression on the discs in your spine and can lead to premature degeneration, which results in chronic pain.
7. DIABETES: Sitting for long hours reduces the body’s ability to handle blood sugar, further causing reduced sensitivity to hormone insulin which helps to carry the glucose from the blood into cells to provide energy. People who spend more time sitting also have a 112 percent increased risk of diabetes.
8. VARICOSE VEINS: Long sitting hours can cause the blood to pool in the legs and further this can lead to varicose veins or spider veins. Generally not harmful but in rare cases can lead to more serious problems like blood clots. Read about the varicose veins here: varicose veins.
9. DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS: It is a blood clot that forms in the veins of your leg. This can cause serious issues if the blood clot in the leg vein breaks off and travels. Further, this can cut off the blood flow to other body parts, including the lungs, which can cause a pulmonary embolism. This medical emergency can lead to further complications as well.
10. STIFF NECK AND SHOULDERS: A stiff neck and shoulders can have causes that aren’t due to underlying disease. Examples include sprains, strains, sleeping in an uncomfortable position, sitting at a desk with poor ergonomics, or lack of movement.

Sitting : The new smoking

NOW WHAT CAN YOU DO TO AVOID THESE PROBLEMS ?

1. Walk and Talk: One of the best ways to stay active I walk and talk. Have a quick walk while taking a call and burn those calories easily.
2. Break up with a chair: Don’t sit for more than half-hour and take a quick walk or do a stretching. Even standing for a few minutes is better than sitting for too long.
3. Take the stairs: Stairs will help not only help you burn those extra cals but will also help you tone your legs.
4.  Utilize those breaks: Use those TV ads to do a quick set of pushups, jumping jacks, high knees, etc., and challenge yourself with some fat-burning exercise sessions. Change those commercial breaks to workout breaks.
5. Set the timer: Use your smartphone to set a timer and set it to go off each 30 to an hour during the day. At the point when it rings, get up and move around, stretch, or do a couple of tasks around the house.