Health risks of a sedentary lifestyle

If you spend a large part of your sitting day, you are not alone: ​​the Americans spend an average of 9.5 hours a day On their buttocks at work or dragging home. Sitting consumes most of our hours of awakening.

But the cumulative effect of this whole prolonged session can harm your health, even if you do the exercise. “It is extremely important to be physically active and to have less sedentary time,” explains the clinical physiologist Erik Van Iterson, PhD.

Here’s how a sedentary lifestyle endangers you, as well as some easy ways to get more movement in your day.

What is a sedentary lifestyle?

An inactive lifestyle means long hours sitting or lying with little physical activity outside your sleep schedule. The sedentary hours also do not need to be consecutive to have an impact on your health.

Some say that as Little at four to six o’clock Cumulative time seated or lying per day is considered sedentary. This includes spent hours:

• Use of a computer
• Play video games
• Watch TV
• Work on an office
• Sits during a trip

More than 10 hours of daily sedentary behavior, Research shows Increased risk of cardiovascular disease and other health problems. It is true even if you train at some point during the day and you meet recommended Physical activity guidelines.

And know that even if you are a healthy weight and BMI (body mass index)Hours of inactivity Bring an increased risk cardiovascular disease.

“It is more than body weight or BMI,” notes Dr. Van Iterson.

Signs of an inactive lifestyle

Your body often points out when you need more movement in everyday life, explains Dr. Van Iterson. Monitor these warning panels which indicate to be too sedentary:

• Low energy levels. When you do not move enough, your metabolism and your blood circulation slow down because the inactive muscles have less demand. It can do you feel tiredEven if you sleep enough at night.
• Weight gain. If you burn fewer calories than you consume it (which is not difficult to do if you are a lot seated), your body stores its energy reserves in fat. Combined with a metabolism that tends to adapt to your activity level, this can cause gradual weight gain – especially Around your median section. These additional books can become substantial over time. (For example, winning half a pound in a week may not seem much. But if you do it every week for a year, it’s 26 additional pounds.)
• Muscle weakness. Too sitting can cause physical deconditioning and loss of muscle mass and function (muscular atrophy), especially in your lower back, hips and upper legs. You can even notice a numbness in your legs Or struggling to walk over time.
• Bad posture. Sagging Or the inclination for long periods while the sitting position can cause rounded shoulders, rear tensions and neck pain.
• Back and joint pain. Sits for long periods can reduce natural lubrication between your joints and weaken muscles. This can bring stiffness and discomfort, especially in the lower back, hips and knees.

Health risks to be sedentary

Sits can lead to more serious health problems than to feel tired and creaky, emphasizes Dr. Van Iterson. High quantities of sedentary behavior and low levels of physical activity have beenrelatedto a variety of chronic diseasesincluding:

Obesity

When you sit for prolonged periods, your body burns fewer calories, because it does not want to generate energy for muscles that are not used.

Take more energy (calories) regularly than burning through physical activity and dedicated exercise generally adds books to your weight, which can lead to obesity explains Dr. Van Iterson.

Inactivity can further promote fat storage by disturbing your hormonal balance Allow the regulation and metabolism of appetite.

Heart disease and hypertension

Your heart is a muscle – and like any muscle, it is weakening with inactivity.

There is Sufficient evidencethat sitting too much increase your risk heart disease States of Dr Van Iterson. A prolonged seat can also underline your system at the cellular level and, in turn, cause risk factors known to develop heart disease, such as hypertension (high blood pressure).

Research shows This inactivity increases your risk of heart disease and various heart problems, once again, even if you are at a healthy and BMI weight.

“It is important to understand the cumulative impact of daily life habits in addition to the number on the scale,” he adds.

Depression

Inactivity is not only difficult for your body. It can also be a challenge for your mental health. A Research analysis I found a link between sedentary behavior (involving in particular televisions and computers) and depression.

Some cancers

When it comes to dodging cancer, it is useful to be a motion target. Research shows that an inactive lifestyle Increase your riskof certain cancers, in particular:

Advice to become less sedentary

There is a simple way to become less sedentary: get up and move. Look for ways to work in pieces of activity, or “Exercise snack », Throughout your day to break the extended session periods.

“There are all kinds of opportunities – you just have to search for them,” encourages Dr. Van Iterson. “Many can even be considered a low effort to integrate.”

It would include things like:

• Walk to your neighborhood coffee instead of driving
• Walk at the office of a colleague to ask a question rather than send an email
• Parking at the end of the parking lot (even if there is a place at the front)
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator
• Walk while talking on the phone
• Using a standing officeAt work to spend more time out of your chair (even standing during a video meeting or a call conference can help you)

All of these additional movements can be added, explains Dr. Van Iterson. “If you walk for five minutes per hour for an eight-hour working day, you essentially accumulate 40 minutes of movement without blocking this time,” he said.

Take a goal to identify the situations where you can avoid sitting for more than an hour in a row. Choose to move gradually more frequently so that behavior becomes a habit.

“Sometimes adding the steps to reach an absolute number is not the point if you reach the target number, while finding yourself sitting for about the same time every day,” said Dr. Van Iterson.

But adding an additional movement is only part of the process. For best results, combine these added steps with a regular exercise routine of aerobic activities, such as walking, running,, bike ,, swimming Or everything you like.

Try to work in a regular aerobic exercise that Increase your heart rateFor more than several minutes, as this type of exercise is the most beneficial for your heart health.

“There is a cumulative effect to evolve regularly, so it is extremely important to be systematically active, intentionally and regularly in exercise, and to have less sedentary time,” reiterates Dr. Van Iterson. “Each movement counts.”