When we’re in the office, or enjoying our recently downloaded TV series at home, or even reading this article, chances are you are sitting… in a slouching position. We all have this wrong notion that sitting helps us to relax strained muscles or rest our extremely stretched backs, but is there really any harm in sitting that we should be alarmed about?
Experts from all over the world have deduced some facts about why prolonged and improper sitting can be disastrous, despite the simplicity of the act. Unknown to us are some related events happening in the body when we let posture and physical activity go, and below is some information to make you think twice before strengthening your affinity with your most beloved chair.
One piece of information that strikes a chord is that prolonged and inappropriate sitting might cause organ damage. Experts concluded that the risk of heart disease is at its peak when a person has been seated for longer than eight hours straight. Remaining sedentary while sitting means that your muscles burn less fat, resulting in slower blood flow. This would then open the gates for fatty acids to clog the arteries of the heart.
Your pancreas can also be affected if you have been immobile for far too long. This organ is known to administer insulin to the bloodstream, and too much of this can cause diabetes. Your muscles, which should be filtrating insulin from being absorbed by your body too much, perform below standard since you don’t move at all.
Muscle degeneration is also one of the many things that sitting sluggishly might result in. Your abdominal muscles are specifically the band of muscles that keep you upright. When you sit improperly, this patch around your stomach also becomes sedentary, and can even be an underlying reason for you to develop hyperlordosis. Prolonged sitting can also weaken your glutes, or the muscles on your hind and hips. When this happens, you’ll definitely feel some moments of instability while standing, difficulties in pushing and the inability to perform a powerful stride.
Your backbone or spine is also at risk of having hardened collagen due to immobility. When a person moves, the discs of your spine contract and absorb fresh blood and nutrients, and so if you have been sitting for a long period of time, these bones become soft and brittle. Unfortunately, a person who has been stuck in a chair for a prolonged duration than normal is at risk of developing herniated lumbar disks.
If you are guilty of this overlooked act of sitting improperly for a long time, don’t fret as there are some ways to alter this habit and keep your health at its best. Ergonomics, or the science of sitting and moving properly, has some pointers to give regarding the right sitting position which includes your shoulders to be relaxed, arms close to your sides, strong support for your lower back muscles and bones, your feet flat on the floor, your elbows bent at a 90-degree angle and refraining from leaning forward too much.
Every once in a while, get your blood flowing by alternately sitting and standing. Stretching your hip muscles and sitting on something wobbly could also be of huge help to avoid the aforementioned downsides of sitting incorrectly.
Taking a quick walk to the bathroom and doing the cow and the cat pose in yoga might also be some things that you can keep in mind.
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