Find out why sitting does more than increase your waistline.
Getting up and moving when you’re leading a busy life can be difficult, but research proves it’s absolutely essential. Health conditions like obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, deep-vein thrombosis, and metabolic syndrome can be connected with “habitual inactivity” like sitting.
When we’re in pain, we tend to sit down to rest, but research suggests that sitting can also increase pain. This is because sitting can tighten the hip flexor and hamstring muscles and stiffen the joints. When this happens it can make walking difficult, as well as cause lower back pain and knee stiffness.
Tips from Mayo Clinic for limiting the risks of pain and illness from sitting too much include:
Take a break from sitting every 30 minutes.
Stand while talking on the phone or watching television.
If you work at a desk, try a standing desk — or improvise with a high table or counter.
Walk with your colleagues for meetings rather than sitting in a conference room.
Position your work surface above a treadmill — with a computer screen and keyboard on a stand or a specialised treadmill-ready vertical desk — so that you can be in motion throughout the day.