Sitting Out Good Health
Lisa Byrne
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Prolonged sitting is bad for you because it’s not what you’re built for.
“A growing body of research suggests that the longer you keep your rear end in your chair and your eyes glued to your screen, the less productive you may be. Getting up from your desk and moving not only heightens your powers of concentration, it enhances your health.” — Forbes, June 2012
We’re not built to sit for long periods of time. We’re built to move.
Sitting too long forces your blood flow to slow down considerably. It increases muscle fatigue and cramping, and possible strain after sudden movement like getting up. It presents undue pressure on the spine; habituates poor posture that over time shows its effects; massively slows the enzyme that removes fats from the blood; and shuts off electrical activity in legs.
Studies and research present the risks associated with prolonged sitting over time increases obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease risk factors and unhealthy dietary patterns to mention a few.
Perhaps you have a few to add yourself like a foggy head, sluggishness, overall tiredness, general malaise and a frozen butt.
Other immediate structural discomforts that can affect your well being are:
- back pain & tightness
- neck discomfort & nerve impingement
- hand/wrist/arm numbness
- shoulder aches & pain
- tight, heavy hips
- knee inflammation & inflexibility
- “doughy gut” syndrome
If you move more frequently and sit less than you do during the day you’ll create clearer channels for anything that needs to flow. That’s blood supply, nerve pathways, digestive juices, enzyme activity, brainy ideas, synovial fluid in the joints, muscle tonicity, and general chi in the body.
Think about it like this: Interrupt sitting regularly. Inconvenience yourself occasionally. Improve ill effects of idle muscles rapidly.
People who feel good about themselves inside will shine in everything they do outside.
Lisa Byrne is the owner and CEO of Pilates for Sport in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She has a B.S. in Exercise Physiology, and is a Certified Pilates Instructor. Lisa has been in the Health and Fitness Industry for more than 23 years, operating her fully-equipped Pilates studio since 1999. Visitors to the movement studio span a wide range of physiques and abilities, and include average boomers looking for diversity; young people with Asperger's-Autism; hard-core athletes looking to “loosen up”; and those in need of chronic pain management through movement. Lisa’s website is MoveMoreToday.com.
