As a lady who plans to write for a good portion of my foreseeable future, sitting for long periods of time is a necessary evil. And the problem is that I emerge from a day of work
mentally tired, which completely voids any
physical energy I might have converted into
motions that would help shave off my wretched bat wings. Thus, I try to drag my big buns on a run every morning before I work, but sometimes, the morning just punches me in the face and it takes all the energy I have to pull the covers off of my sorry a**. But
this -- this should make you want to front handspring out of bed and sprint four miles.
Basically, our bodies don't take well to sitting. Sitting isn't really their jam. Your body performs better when it's predominantly in motion -- even if you exercise, a mostly sedentary day is pretty darn bad for your health. Listen to this: Within the few minutes of your cheeks hitting the chair, the internal activity in your muscles comes to a halt and your body torches only 1 calorie per minute. After a couple of weeks of continued sedentary behavior, your blood sugar rises and your muscles begin to atrophy, while LDL cholesterol (the icky kind) mounts up. Women begin to lose bone mass for every year that they sit for at least six hours a day -- something not so hard to do with an office job.
Ten or twenty years of that shaves seven quality years off your life and increases risk for heart disease by 64 percent.
Holy moly.
For many people, though, this is something they can't change -- I mean, I can't so much as write and change the channel at the same time. The most you can do is try to be proactive and stay conscious of the way your body feels. Make sure you find some sort of exercise that motivates you to be up and about for at least 30 to 40 minutes every day. Don't sit for more than an hour -- get up, go to the bathroom, take a quick lap around the office, whatever you need to do to make sure you don't leave a permanent butt print on your seat. And if you have room, bring an exercise ball to work and use that in lieu of a chair. For what it's worth, it engages your core muscles and keeps your body a little more active. I'm sitting on one as I write -- this article depressed me. Sorry guys.
My point is:
move. You'll thank yourself later. (via
Lifehacker)
How much do you Lovelies sit in one day? Have you felt the effects of sitting for long periods of time?
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Comments (24)
I have a bad body. I have low muscle tone. I have flat feet which results in back pain. In essence, it hurts like hell to move and stand, so a sedentary lifestyle is in the books for me. This stuff really doesn't scare me. I'll die when I die.
This is scary. I HAVE to sit all day for my job.. oy.
What about standing in one spot for hours? I do that. :/ But yeah, sounds awful.
I've heard this many times before. Honestly, we live in a society where we really can't just get up and move around constantly - not only because of our work and educational environments, but just because of the space around us and the way in which we structure our lives There for sure are things you can do to keep yourself moving, as you've already listed. But I think that a sedentary lifestyle will be more problematic than simply sitting a lot while you still lead a healthy and active lifestyle. Just like how people will say that watching TV can lead to health issues, well if you are sitting all day and not exercising, sure. But if you watch TV and exercise and are clearly in good shape, then it won't really have that serious of an impact on your body.
Also, I believe at one point I read something about a stand-up, moving desk :)
WELL, no office job for me, then!
I used to sit indian style on my office chair for long periods of time and my foot got numb(I'm at home and sitting like that now
), but nowadays, my job requires standing/walking around all day for at least 7 hours and an hour of break time to sit.
I sit for hours in a day. Unfortunately I can't say, "Sorry prof, gotta leave your class 2 hours early to walk around and exercise because sitting for 3 hours is bad for me." After I graduate my job will require me to walk around 90% of the time I'm there for the 12 hour shift. Hopefully 40+ years of that will cancel out the next 3 years I'll have to spend sitting at a desk (in class/at the library/studying in my room).
@niqohl@xanga - get up and frequently walk to the garbage can during class :p
Maybe they should start selling computers that are hooked up to exercise equipment. Their power source can be our pain and suffering as we try to get our atrophied muscles back into shape.
Damn...I write for a living, too. I feel your pain...er, fear.
I sit at work, and would love to have a stand-up desk. Hopefully, at some point, I can get one. In the meantime, I'll be grateful for having a job, and try to move around as much as possible.
I sit all day, but I get bored easily and get up a lot. I doubt I sit for an entire hour at a time. I have heard this stuff before though. It freaks me out. I wish I LIKED working out lol then I'd do it more often.
what isn't deadly now a days >_<
I can't sit still at all. I was the girl in college that always moved her legs around and sat on them in the middle of class. Or propped them on the back of another chair. And had to go pee every class period.
Thankfully, my job requires a lot of walking (I walk about 3-5 mi/day just at work), so I don't this will be a problem!
For those of you with desk jobs, one of my friends switched to an elevated desk and now she stands while she works. You could try that?
I wanted to laugh at the picture of the guy sitting, but then I remembered that I sit like that too (just usually with my feet up on my bookshelf).
Tell that to the lap dancers.
do butt clenches while you're sitting :P
ever heard of standing desks? public health officials are starting to encourage classrooms and offices to have those as an option for students and employees.
Man, I sit way more than I used to because now I work in an office. I did suffer some weight gain, but some extra effort put into reducing the total calories consumed and regular moderate exercise should take care of my problem. Also, I get up and walk to coworkers' desks if I have something to ask rather than calling/emailing. Walk to get lunch if I didn't bring it.
what if you're a compulsive fidgeter?
I'm screwed then.
The effects of sitting for extended periods include relaxation, enjoyment, and reduction of stress.
Erm...sounds like being a housewife is a perfect job, then :)