4 Simple Tips To Reverse The Negative Side Effects Of Sitting
If there’s one thing everyone does a lot of in our modern society, it’s sitting down. Whether it’s all day in a classroom or office, or at night watching television or tapping away on smartphones, people spend more of their waking hours sitting. And that’s not even including the commute to and from work or school.
In fact, most people spend the vast majority of their waking hours sitting down. This is not a good thing. Sitting too much has been shown to be bad for your back, your heart, increases the risk of dementia and is just bad for your health overall.
This means if you are like most people and sit a lot, you’ll want to learn some simple things you can do to counteract all that sitting and improve your overall health. There are many health problems you can’t do much about. Fortunately, you can help fix all that sitting.
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Walk at Regular Times.
Set a timer to go off every hour. Get up from your desk and take a walk around the office. You can even do this at home when you’re watching television or using your phone or tablet. When you sit for too long at one time, this causes problems with muscle groups like the hip flexors. Tight high flexors cause a variety of problems. Sitting also can cause activation problems for the glute muscles.
By utilising walking breaks, you can re-activate the glutes while also lengthening the hip flexors, which can counteract many of the harmful side effects of prolonged sitting.
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Stretch Daily!
Everyone wants to relax after a long day of work. However, before you plop down on that couch, be sure and get in some stretching. There are some good exercises for the hip flexors, such as the popular lunge stretch, or the standing quadriceps stretch. Try holding each stretch for about 30 seconds on each side. You may want to repeat for a few rounds. Like the walking tip, you can also try to do a little stretching throughout the day to stay loose.
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Find An Active Hobby
The human body was designed to move, not sit around. Don’t go from sitting all day at work to sitting all evening at home. Find something active you might enjoy. The first two tips can help out a lot, but they are no match for daily activity such as going to the gym, playing tennis, or heading to the basketball court. You don’t need to spend two hours at the gym or tennis courts. Even a good 15 minutes a day of brisk activity will do wonders to counteract all that sitting down. But you need to make sure you are consistent. 15 minutes a day is a lot better than 2 hours at one time, once per month.
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Change Your Work Environment
If at all possible, try making positive changes in your work environment. There are some popular “standing” desks out there now so you can stand and do your office work on the computer.
In terms of a good chair, be sure it supports your back and that your hips are above your knees. The feet should be able to be firmly on the ground and keep you stable.
By implementing these four simple tips you can greatly reduce the possible negative consequences of too much sitting. You’ll feel better and healthier, too.
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