*Article originally inspired by an article seen on Dr. Mercola.*
Calling all students, writers, office assistants, computer techs, dental hygienists, communication specialists and more, it’s time we have a serious talk about the health impacts of prolonged sitting.
About 80% of jobs today exclude any level of physical exertion, meaning 80% of people are spending on average anywhere from 5-10 hours a day sitting for prolonged periods of time. This statistic proves worrisome considering the slew of medical literature available today showing how inactivity, i.e., prolonged sitting periods, significantly impacts your cardiovascular and metabolic function.
What’s surprising to note, however, is that even people who exercise regularly aren’t exempt from the health impacts of prolonged sitting.
The Cancelling-Out Effect: Something Gym-Goers Should Know
One study found that prolonged sitting has a counteractive effect for people who spend anywhere from 2-4 hours a week at the gym, no matter how vigorous a workout they take on. For example, if someone were to exercise for 1 hour in the morning, and then spend 6 hours sitting at work afterwards, many of the health benefits from the morning workout would be counteracted.
According to David Dunstan with the Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia, the lack of muscle contraction caused by sitting decreases blood flow through your body, thereby reducing the efficiency of biological processes.
A recent study found that even one hour of sitting impaired blood flow to the main arteries by 50%. On the flip-side, however, just 5 minutes of walking every hour can subdue the risks of heart disease associated with prolonged sitting.
As Dr. Mercola discusses in his article, Walking More May Be Key for a Longer, Healthier Life, when you have been sitting for a long period of time and then get up, at a molecular level, within 90 seconds of getting off your bottom, the muscular and cellular systems that process blood sugar, triglycerides, and cholesterol—which are mediated by insulin—are activated.
As soon as you stand up, a series of molecular mechanisms at the cell level set off a cascade of activities that impact the cellular functioning of your muscles. The way your body handles blood sugar is beneficially impacted, for example. Therefore, the disease prevention for diabetes comes into play.
Sitting Down May Accelerate The Aging Process
When we spend periods of time sitting, we are keeping our cells from experiencing the biological benefits of gravity, which can accelerate the aging process. Former director of NASA’s Life Sciences Division and author of Sitting Kills, Moving Heals, Jone Vernikos, elaborates on this.
In essence, sitting prevents your body from interacting with and exerting itself against gravity. While not nearly as severe as the antigravity experienced by astronauts, uninterrupted sitting mimics a microgravity situation, which has the effect of accelerating the aging process.
Physical movements, such as standing up or bending down, increase the force of gravity on your body, and this is key to counteracting the cellular degeneration that occurs when you’re sitting down.
How To Reverse The Damage Being Done: Time To Get Moving
The benefits of walking may be underestimated by some, however, it is clear that sitting is directly sabotaging our health and walking may be the simple and effective tool to counteract these health impacts.
If you have a job which has you sitting, it is important to make an effort to get up and walk around every hour at the very least (I’d say as much as you possibly can), and perhaps even implement some stretches to promote blood flow throughout the body.
Walking isn’t only beneficial for people who sit at work. In fact, there are a plethora of health benefits to walking. It is particularly beneficial to people who have a difficult time doing more intense workouts, such as the chronically ill, obese, or elderly.
My Walking Routine
I walk for an hour on an empty stomach first thing in the morning about 3x per week on my off days (from weight training). I also bring a litre of purified lemon water to drink throughout, ensuring I am starting my day hydrated. I can’t explain to you how invigorating it feels to simply walk for an extended period of time in the morning. I usually dedicate this time to think about the day ahead, and many times I listen to an interesting podcast so that I’m both exercising and learning at the same time.
For those wondering why I exercise/walk on an empty stomach, the reason has to do with maximizing fat loss. Although the verdict is mixed on the effectiveness of fasted cardio, I’ve found great results with walking while in the fasted state in the A.M., and recommend it to anyone who is either looking to get into an exercise routine, or even for someone to add to their off days from more rigorous workouts. Either way, get walking and get moving, especially if you spend your work week in a chair.
See also: Why Restricting Your Eating Time Period To 8 Hours Will Transform Your Health & Fitness
via Collective - Evolution