I’d like to talk to you about something I spend A LOT of time lecturing to my clients and businesses about. And that is how destructive the simple act of sitting can be.
Allow me to scare you for a moment with some stats.
Sitting for 8-12 hours a day increases your chance of developing Type 2 Diabetes by 90%
Physical inactivity is the 4th leading risk factor for death, according to the World Health Organization
67% of Americans hate sitting and 86% of Americans sit all day at work, leading to an overall unhappy lifestyle
Doctors are calling sitting the new smoking. “For people who sit most of their day, their risk of heart attack is about the same as smoking.” Cardiologist Martha Grogan
HERE is one of my favorite videos that is hilarious, but also does a great job of explaining what sitting can do to you. It’s worth the watch.
And there are more and more studies being done about what sitting and being on technology all day does to us, and the results are not that great.
Unfortunately, our working culture is evolving to set us up for failure. Some companies are wising up and implementing more wellness plans, but for the most part, our lives are revolving around sitting.
Think about it. Completely generalizing here, but you get up, get ready for the day, and sit as you eat breakfast, read the paper, whatever. You sit on your commute, be it by car or public transit. You get to work and sit at your desk most of the time. You sit as you commute home. You get home, sit as you eat dinner, and you sit as you unwind at the end of the day. Then you lay down and sleep for 6-8 hours.
Phew. That’s a lot of sitting. Now I know this isn’t everyone’s typical day, but hopefully it illustrates how easy it is to be so sedentary that we don’t even really notice it.
And then we wonder why we have so much body pain and digestion issues. And I’m sorry, but one hour of working out is just not enough to counter 8+ hours of sitting. It helps, but our whole lifestyle has to be looked at to counter this sitting culture.
So what to do with this information? Start making some simple observations and changes that keep you moving more in your day.
Walk or bike to work, if you can. Move throughout your day. Take hourly walking or stretching breaks from your desk. Fill you after work hours with more active things.
I’ve created a PDF that has some quick and easy tips that you can implement at work or in your everyday life. It has stretches and breathing techniques and all sorts of goodness.
Hopefully, this post offered you some good information that inspires you instead of scares you! But I am really passionate about changing the sitting culture, and it’s something I’m personally trying to change in my own life. It is oh so important if we want to lead long and happy lives!
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