Even when you exercise daily, studies still show that sitting for a huge fraction of your time might be deadly in the long run. In fact, statistics show that the number of people dying from sitting complications is almost equal to those dying from smoking problems. Yes, you heard me right! Discussed below are some of the dangers of sitting for a majority of the day.
Heart Disease
Are you aware that those with sitting jobs are twice likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases unlike those with standing jobs? The key reason is that when you are sitting down your muscles don’t burn fatter and blood flows slower. This encourages the clogging of the heart.
Diabetes
When you sit for too long, your blood sugar levels will rise because of the changes that happen in the muscles. In fact, sitting twice has been proven to double the chances of getting diabetes. For this reason, if you sit down for long durations make sure that you stand up every thirty minutes. If possible walk around, do a few squats or push-ups.
Obesity
You burn more calories when you are standing than when sitting. Sitting down for long hours is linked to obesity because when you are sitting enzyme lipase doesn’t function to absorb fats in the body. Researchers found that when you sit down for too long preadipocytes turn into fat cells quickly increasing your waistline.
Inflexible Spine
When you are making any activity your soft disks contract and expand just like shock absorbers to get nutrients, oxygen and fresh blood. When you are seated for long periods, your disks are imbalanced and don’t get the nutrients that they require. Moreover, collagen hardens around your tendons and ligaments that provide support to the spine resulting in a stiff back with less flexibility.
Limp Legs
When you are sitting your legs are immobile, and the chances are that they might get weak. Limp legs can cause you a lot of biomechanical issues that reduce your stability, balance and raise your chances of getting an injury. With weak legs, you also boost your odds of getting fractures.
Reduced Mental Clarity
Sitting down for a long time slows down everything in your body including brain function. This is not a surprise because when we are active oxygen and fresh blood get to your brain at a faster rate helping to boost the production of mood-enhancing chemicals.
Premature Death
If you want to extend your life avoid sitting down for too long. Some studies have found that sitting for too long increases your odds of dying young. Even those who work out daily risk their life by spending their day sedentary.
Muscle Strains
Sitting for too long will cause muscle strain as well as tension leading to neck and back pain. When you are sitting, you arch your back, especially when working with a computer. This results in the overextending of shoulder and back muscles and poor posture.
If you wish to avoid the dangers of sitting for extended periods, you can buy a standing desk converter. The converters will make you stand more and sit less to better your health.…