The harmful effects of a sedentary lifestyle on the body and mind
How much of your day is spent sitting? Whether in front of a computer for work, playing video games, bingeing the latest series on HBO, or scrolling through Instagram, sitting has become the most basic activity that people regularly do.
"More than 80% of adults in American do not meet the minimum guidelines for suggested daily movement, and children now spend an average of 7 hours a day in front of a screen." -U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Those statistics should feel more than slightly alarming.
Especially as they correlate to the steady rise in obesity, diabetes, autoimmune disease, and mental health "disorders"; all of which have now been proven to be directly affected by physical movement or lack thereof.
It's literally science. And it's literally a significant public health issue.
James A. Levine, an obesity specialist at Mayo Clinic, has even gone as far as labeling sitting as the disease of our time. However, in a society that's largely been conditioned to overly pack their days with activities that require prolonged sitting along with the stagnancy brought about by the mindless fixation on phones, TVs, and/or computer screen, it's no wonder the numbers rise as they do.
A sedentary lifestyle's impact on the physical body
To start, people with the most sedentary lifestyle are 200% more likely to have heart complications than those with the least.
Excessive sitting is also linked to:
Increased risk for certain cancers
Decrease in skeletal muscle mass
High blood pressure and elevated cholesterol levels
Impaired brain functions, related to dementia and Alzheimer's
Spikes in blood pressure, even for those at a healthy body weight
Decreased libido and fertility
Back pain and disk degeneration
Diminished sleep quality
Chronic anxiety and depression...
An Australian study involving 3,300 government employees found that those who sat for more than 6 hours a day at work were 90% more likely to experience psychological distress such as feeling nervous, restless, hopeless, or overwhelmingly tired - than those who sat for less than 3 hours a day.
Sneaking more movement into your days
Walking for a mere 30 minutes a day 4-5 days can work wonders for improving all of the previously-discussed symptoms of a sitting-heavy lifestyle.
The following are just some of both the simple and creative ways for switching up the harmful habit:
Keep comfy shoes in your car and/or at work
Suggest activities that require movement when meeting with friends
Walk around vs sitting during your child's activities
Invest in a wearable activity tracker
Squeeze in a walk with a work pal during breaks
Park farther away - and only once
Rearrange your routes to include walking during a portion of it
Make a hiking jar full of places around town that you'd like to go walk on a whim
Help a friend or neighbor by offering to take their doggo for a walk...the dog will likely be pumped about this, too
Join or start a walking group in your community
Suggest walking meetings at work
Be okay with not taking all of the groceries in on one trip...I dare you!
One of the worst things you can do to your body is nothing at all. How will you break the harmful cycle of a sedentary lifestyle?
By Sam Jump
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