DOCTOK

Why Sitting Is the New Smoking

Admittedly, most of us do not spend enough time standing as we would like to believe. At our desks, in our cars, at our dinner tables, on our TVs, scrolling on our phones, or even when we are relaxing. It can hardly be considered otherwise that the chair is now a part of our body.

However, there is one frightening fact. Sitting is gradually turning into one of the most significant health risks of our time. As a matter of fact, health professionals have even referred to sitting as the new smoking.

Initially, such a comparison would have seemed funny, as sitting after all is not a vice like smoking. It does not smoke our lungs and does not leave behind a trail of secondhand damage. But once you go deeper, you will understand why such a statement is not just a catchy phrase.

The Rise of the Sitting Generation

Consider it only several decades ago, movement was a part of everyday life. People used to walk to markets, do manual chores, and children played till sunset. Fast forward to today. Groceries are delivered, chores are automated, children are playing on screens, and work in an office is  8-10 hours in a row.

We have pulled convenience into every nook and cranny of our lives. The result? We are sitting more than ever. Studies have shown that the average adult spends 6 to 8 hours sitting around every day, and some, particularly desk workers, spend more. One-half of our waking life is spent sitting around.

And our bodies? This was not what they were made for.

This is how sitting is harmful to our health in the long run

Heart Disease: Sitting all day lowers blood flow, elevates cholesterol, and increases blood pressure, all of which lead to heart issues.

Risk of Diabetes: The lack of physical activity reduces insulin sensitivity, and thus, the inability to control the sugar level in the bloodstream increases.

Muscle Weakness: Sitting shuts off our glutes, stiffens our hips, and weakens our core. This is what has made back pain the new common cold.

Obesity: Fat stores the calories that we do not use up in a sedentary position. Multiply that by eating at the desk, and it becomes a weight-gain recipe.

Mental Health: Sitting hours are associated with increased risk of anxiety and depression, in part because sitting is accompanied by low physical activity and social isolation.

Premature Death: The researchers have found that individuals who sit for over 8 hours daily are at risk of contracting early death, just like smokers.

The Illusion of Exercise

Here is one of the most common mistakes most of us make.  “I go to the gym, so I am safe”.

Sadly, no. Exercise does help, but it does not compensate for the harm of sitting. Consider it in the following way. That you smoke a pack of cigarettes and eat a salad does not negate the damage. In the same way, an hour in the gym will not completely counter the eight hours sitting at the desk.

It is not only exercise but moving around during the day, which is the real antidote. Small, consistent bursts of activity matter more than just one intense workout.

Reducing the Sitting Cycle.

These are some of the practical ways to reclaim movement.

 Get up, stretch, or walk at least every 30 minutes.  Even a  2-minute relaxation counts.

Stand when working.

Hold walk and talk meetings

Raise your calves, roll your shoulders, or stretch at your desk to keep the blood flowing.

Walk/ride short distances rather than drive.

Reject going out with a friend over coffee, ask them to walk with you.

Do not outsource it all. Cleaning, cooking, or gardening keeps you on the move.

Get applications or smartwatches that remind you to stand.

We cannot stop sitting in general; it is modern life. We can alter our relation to it, however. Understand what it is, an insidious, silent danger, not an innocent day-to-day activity.

Don’t sit and waste away your life, rise and walk, stretch and restore the energy that your bodies are made to give.