What Happens to Your Body When You Sit?

Did you know that sitting for extended periods of time has serious negative consequences on your health? The human body wasn’t made to sit at a desk or on a couch for hours each day, yet that is exactly what many of us do; some people sit for upwards of 15 hours a day. Curious to know how sitting is taking years off your lifespan? Want to know how you can counteract the negative effects of sitting? Keep on reading!

After you sit down, your body’s activity immediately starts to slow, until you’re only burning one calorie per minute, a small fraction of what you burn while walking. During a one week span of sitting for 6 or more hours a day, your body isn’t burning fat and your blood sugar levels rise — now you are at a greater risk for heart disease. Your body’s oxygen consumption drops and now you have a hard time walking distances and climbing stairs. Over the course of a year, your bones will be losing density. Over the course of 10 years of sitting for around 6+ hours a day, your quality of life has significantly declined and you face a 30 percent higher chance of developing prostate or breast cancer.

As you can see, the effects of sitting are really harsh on your body, regardless of whether you have to sit for work, for travel, or for pleasure. Thankfully, there are ways to counteract this destruction no matter what your lifestyle is.

Here are some tips:

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Be Active

This might sound like a no-brainer, but getting at least 20 minutes of exercise a day is something many people overlook. With a busy schedule, it can be hard to find the time to exercise but it is so very important. For those who can’t avoid sitting for too long, it is crucial to use exercise as a way to reduce the risk of negative health effects. Check out this article if you’d like to know more about how different increments of exercise affect your body.

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Take Breaks

Take as many breaks as possible during the time you have to spend sitting, even if that means getting up 1-2 times to stretch every 20-30 minutes. The burst of activity will keep your blood flowing and keep your body working harder than it would if you didn’t stand up. If you can go for a short walk or even do some simple exercise, even better.

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Be Ergonomically Correct

For those of us who sit at a desk for work, school, or whatever else, setting up your workstation in a way that is friendly on our posture will help make sure your body is taking as little damage as possible while you have to be seated. Take a look at this super informative guide on how to create a better workstation in 4 easy steps. Making sure to keep your keyboard, mouse, and monitor in a position that doesn’t strain your neck and back, as well as sitting back and straight in your seat, is key to maintaining good posture at work. Without good posture…well, good luck.

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Get an Adjustment

A chiropractic adjustment targets your spine, an important and sensitive area of your body. Keeping your spine aligned will help you maintain good posture and take some of the burdens off your body while you’re sitting. An adjustment will help your overall well being; you’ll feel better without even realizing you felt bad in the first place. To learn more about how adjustments work and how to know if you need one read this article, which will help you understand what a misalignment is and how to fix it.

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See a Chiropractor

Dr. Doyle in the Huntersville, N.C. area knows all about the trouble of sitting for 6+ hours a day and he wants to help you fight back. Dr. Doyle can provide an accurate evaluation of your body’s well being and work with you to come up with a solution to whatever issues you might be facing. Call or stop by today to start reversing the damage you have incurred from sitting and start sitting better!