How your extended sitting can be detrimental to your health

Sitting for long periods can cause a number of health concerns. Read on to know what they are and how they can be avoided.

By: Paras Hemrajani | | Published: October 5, 2019 10:30 am

It isn't just the amount of time spent sitting, but also the way in which sitting time is accumulated during the day, that can increase the risk of early death. © Shutterstock

Do you feel a stiffness in your back while you are sitting in your office? Sitting for too long can have an impact on your back and could also cause other health conditions. According to the statistics released by BigThink, an average person spends 7709 days of their lives sitting. People often point out that their jobs make them sit down for long periods in a day and does not allow physical activity. Many researches have linked sitting for a long period of time to increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol levels. When we sit for too long and hunch over to use the computer screen in office, this puts uneven pressure on the spine and shrinks the chest cavity. In addition to this, fat burns slowly when you are sitting, this increases the risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease. Analysis of different studies have shown that just like obesity and smoking, sitting for more than 8 hours in a day can increase the risk of dying. Also Read - Do you sit for prolonged periods? Just 11 minutes of exercise a day can help keep diseases at bay

WHAT YOU CAN DO

It is recommended that a person should take break from sitting very hour for at least 5 to 10 minutes. Simple act of standing can be profound. According to the Journal of the American Heart Association, if your job requires you to sit for long periods of time, then you must balance your sitting and standing time at home. Practicing strenuous exercise at home could reduce the risk of heart disease and death. Here are some to the exercises that you can perform to reverse the effect of sitting all day. Also Read - Sitting for too long can make your hips tight: 5 hip-opening yoga poses for you

Dead bug

Sitting all day with incorrect posture can make your hip flexor tight, which causes pain in the gluteal muscles (butt muscles). Over time this can compromise the ability of glute muscles to active, leading to dead butt syndrome. Dead bug works the glute muscles and strengths them. It promotes correct posture and improves the functioning of core muscles. For this exercise, you need to lie on your back with both arms raised to the ceiling. Now bring your right leg up into a table top position. As you extend your right leg drop your left arm. Repeat this exercise with both your arms and legs. 20 reps of this exercise daily should be enough to reduce the health risk increased by sitting all day. Also Read - How many calories do you burn while sitting, sleeping, walking + other leisure activities?

Plank

Tight hip flexors make it hard to move the pelvis area. Immobility or inhibited movement of pelvis can cause compression and pain in the lower back. By performing the plank for 30 seconds in a day, you can improve your pelvic alignment and strengthen your core muscles. To perform a plank, put your forearm and toes touching the floor, and form a straight line from head to toe. Squeeze your thighs and butt and try to hold for 30 seconds.

Single leg bridges

Sitting too long only affects the anterior (front) muscles such as your hip flexors, pelvis, and chest, it also affects the posterior (back) part of your body such as back and hamstrings. Sitting all day tights,

the hamstring muscle. Single leg bridges help in engaging the gluteus maximus (the largest glute muscle) and hamstring. To perform this activity, you need to lie on your back, bend you knee and place feet flat on the ground. Then lift your right leg in the air and try to lift glutes, hips, and back off the ground. Switch legs after 12 reps.

Kettle deadlift

Kettle deadlift works the glutes, hamstring, core, traps (muscle that connects spine and occipital bone) and lats (muscles connecting the vertebral column.) muscle. This will help in reversing the affects of poor posture that befalls with the act of sitting all day. Do not perform this exercise with too much weight as it could put more pressure on the back. To perform this exercise, stand with kettle place on the floor, between your legs, keep your back flat and bend to lift the weight with your butt pushing backwards. Slightly bend your knee to lift the weight. Straighten your legs as you pull the weight up to the hips. Perform this exercise for 15 reps.

Goblet Squats

Sitting too long, can shorten our hip flexor muscles, which can lead to pain in the hip joints. Golden squats work the glutes, quads, hamstrings, and core muscles. This improves the strength of the glutes muscles and helps in strengthening them for the next day of extended sitting in the office. To perform this exercise, you need to hold a kettle ball with both your hands up at the level of chest. Stand with your feet slightly wider than regular and bend your knee and hips to lower the body. Go as low as you can and then rise by pushing the heels. Repeat this exercise your 15 reps.

Bend over row

With bend over row exercise, you are working your back and shoulder muscles. Incorrect posture leads to imbalance of strength between back and chest, with back being the less dominate. Rows can help restore that balance. For this exercise, you need to hold a dumbbell in your right hand, bend your knees so that your torso is leaning forward. Maintain this position and try to bring the dumbbell up to the chest level. Slowly bring the dumbbell back to the starting position. Repeat this exercise for 15 reps, after that switch arms and repeat the same process with other hand.

Published : October 5, 2019 10:30 am

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