6 Reasons to Get up off Your You-Know-What!
Maybe you’ve heard… sitting is the new smoking.
In the U.S. the typical adult is now sedentary for 60% of waking hours and sits an average of 6 hours each day.
Our distant ancestors and current day hunter-gatherers walked an average of 5 miles or about 10,000 steps a day, with frequent bouts of more intense physical activity.
Until the Industrial Revolution, 90% of American jobs involved manual labor.
Now, fewer than 2% do.
So, why is so much sitting so bad?
1) Sitting is hazardous to your heart.
Sitting long hours results in higher triglycerides, lower HDL (the “good” cholesterol), increased blood pressure, and decreased diameter of your arteries…making heart disease more likely.
2) Sitting impairs insulin sensitivity.
In one study participants who sat for 5 hours after consuming a high-calorie drink had insulin and blood sugar levels that were more than 20 percent higher than on days when they interrupted sitting with short movement breaks.
3) Sitting weakens your bones.
Sitting is associated with lower bone mineral density and osteoporosis in both men and women.
4) Sitting boosts your chance of cancer.
Researchers found sedentary behavior was associated with:
24 percent higher risk of developing colon cancer
21 percent increased risk of lung cancer
higher risk of breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancer, and multiple myeloma.
These links remained strong even in people who worked out regularly.
5) Sitting might cause you to lose your mind.
In a study from UCLA participants who sat long periods had thinning in regions of the brain involved in memory formation. This decreased thickness is a precursor to cognitive decline and dementia.
6) Sitting so much can kill you.
In a 2018 survey of 125,000 men and women, sitting more than 6 hours a day was associated with a 19% higher all-cause death rate when compared with sitting less than 3 hours per day. The higher risk of death remained even in people who exercised.
What does that mean?
“These links remained strong even in people who worked out regularly.”
“The higher risk of death remained even in people who exercised.”
It means that exercise alone isn’t enough to offset the harmful effects of too much sitting.
Swap your sedentary lifestyle for an active one!
The solution in 3 parts:
Sit less, stand more
Walk more, and do more “non-exercise physical activity”
Regular periods of more intense physical activity - i.e. “exercise”
Standing
Standing engages postural muscles that increase fat burning.
Standing and slow walking increase energy expenditure by 2.5 times.
Standing while working burns up to 75% more calories per day.
Low to moderate level of physical activity
Lowers post-meal blood sugar, insulin levels, and triglycerides.
Reduces waist circumference.
Includes activities like gardening, household chores, walking, biking.
Regular periods of more vigorous activity - aka “exercise”
150 minutes moderate-intensity activity per week
- like fast walking, yoga, stair walking or dancing
75 minutes vigorous-intensity activity per week
- like running, Zumba, stair running or playing sports
30 sets highest-intensity activity per week
- like sprinting, jumping rope, or resistance training
Some combination of the above
Moderate activity is defined as 50 – 70% of maximum effort. Vigorous activity is exerting 70 – 90% of max effort. And highest-intensity would be putting out 90% of maximum possible effort.
You can do higher intensity activity in designated workouts or integrate them into your daily routine.
If you work at home, consider peppering in vigorous or highest intensity activities throughout your day. Break up stretches of sitting with push-ups, pull-ups, rope jumping, running stairs, or jumping jacks. Even at your work place, you may be able to walk the stairs or walk outside for a few minutes to get your blood flowing.
All in all, aim to stand at least 50% of your day. Increase non-exercise physical activity. Aim for 5,000-10,000 steps a day on average. Incorporate regular periods of more vigorous exercise throughout the week.
Strength training is a good place to start in order to move your whole body more.
Here are a couple strength-training workouts for beginners to do at home. All you need is a couple hand weights.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIHy-ZnSndA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0bhE67HuDY
Let me know if I can help you move more, or otherwise promote your health and well-being!