First things first lets go over the negative effects of prolonged sitting. There are two effects, mechanical and physiological.
Mechanical: maintaining a consistent, static (nonmoving) body position for an extended period of time can change the length-tension relationship of the muscles. When the muscle length changes, joint motion is affected. For example people tend to have tight hip flexors when they sit too much/long. This changes the way the hip joints move. In addition, it causes the gluteus maximus muscles to lengthen and unable to generate their normal force of extension. This can then lead to your hamstrings or lumbar erectors to compensate and can lead to a potential low back injury.
Physiological: Prolonged periods of sitting creates specific changes in how the various systems of the body function to perform their normal duties.
Solutions for excessive sitting
An activity tracker or smart watch can be a great help. They help by keeping you aware of how active you are. You can log your workouts, track your steps. You can even set an alarm for your watch to make sure you move every hour, to keep you from sitting for a prolonged period of time.
Self love and movement strategies is another great option. By this I mean taking some “you” time, do a stretch routine, light yoga, belly breathing, meditation, something to stretch and relax your body.
Now if you find yourself sitting for too long because of work, here are some options. You can set an alarm to get up and take a 2 min walk or light stretching every 30-45 min. You could ask for the option of a standing desk as well.
Sitting is something that everyone has to do at some point throughout their day. Like a lot of things in life, a little bit of sitting is not bad for you and for many people its simply unavoidable. Unfortunately, as the research continues to show, excessive amounts of sitting could contribute to an early death.
Referecnces
Biswas, A. et al. (2015) Sedentary time and its association with risk for disease incidence, mortality and hospitalization in adults; A systematic review and meta-analysis. Annals of internal medicine, 162, 2, 123-132.
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