How much of your day is spent sitting? Your drive to work, your 8 – 10 hour workday at the office, and the couple of hours you spend in front of the TV or computer when you get home all add up to some serious sitting time.
But researchers have found that sitting too much has been linked to higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity and even cancer.
According to Dr. James Levine, professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, “Sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people than HIV, and is more treacherous than parachuting. We are sitting ourselves to death.”
Based on a recent study, office workers should try to stand up and move around for at least two (and work towards four) hours a day to avoid some of the negative consequences of living a more sedentary lifestyle.
In that same study, experts from the U.K., U.S. and Australia support the idea of utilizing sit-stand desks, standing-based work, and taking regular walking breaks to mitigate the harmful side effects of extensive sitting.
A study by the CDC found that two-thirds of employees they surveyed felt more energetic and productive when they had a desk they could stand at for part of the day. It also helped them alleviate upper-back and neck pain.
Not only that, but studies have shown that constant sitting causes your central nervous system to slow down, suggesting that ditching your chair for a standing desk could banish the dreaded mid-afternoon productivity slump that many workers experience.
If you don’t have access to a standing desk, there are still a few things you can do to avoid the harmful results of prolonged sitting.
You can take regular breaks every hour to grab a cup of water, or take a quick walk around the office to improve your body’s circulation and to help clear your mind.
If possible, you can go to your nearby gym and work out during lunch or after work. According to researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center, one hour of physical exercise could counteract the effects of sitting for six to seven hours a day.
Do you take regular walking breaks during work or do you feel glued to your desk? Please feel free to share your thoughts on sitting too much in the comment section below.
Resources:
Office employees should be on feet for four hours of working day, study says
Health experts have figured out how much time you should sit each day
Why your chair might be killing you
After being on 28 weeks of bedrest with my youngest daughter, sitting destroyed my body and especially my tailbone. 4 months of physical therapy didn’t help and I lived with chronic pain for 3 years. I avoided sitting as often as I could. Then I met an amazing chiropractor who cured my pain with acupuncture. Now that i’m mostly pain free I find myself sitting for much longer periods of time at my computer. This blog is a great reminder to break that habit.
I know my sitting is killing my back! I want to invest in a standing desk someday or maybe an exercise ball chair!! 🙂
My husband uses a standing desk and highly recommends it!
I have a Garmin Vivofit and it’s great – it vibrates after an hour of inactivity which reminds me to get up and move!
Too much of any one thing is never good … great suggestion on the Vivofit
Thanks for the reminder to get up and move. Though sometimes sitting is the only position that feels good due to lower back pain
I recently started using a Varidesk (www.varidesk.com) to ease the hip pain from sitting all day. Now I work either sitting or standing easily by raising and lowering my desk. No more pain!
we have a couple of ladies in the office who are using standing desks similar to Varidesk and they love it too.
According to Dr. James Levine, professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, “Sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people than HIV, and is more treacherous than parachuting. We are sitting ourselves to death.” ….. WOW, that really make you want to get up and move.
I made my desk into a stand up one at my work and my back pain is gone and i’m way more productive. No afternoon slump. Stand up desk is the way to go but i would love to have a treadmill desk.
wow I didnt know this! Very Interesting
Great information, thank you all for sharing.
I sit waaaay more than I should, but my Fitbit with walking reminders really helps to stand more often!