The human body is designed for regular movement. Unfortunately, many Americans spend the majority of their day sitting, and sitting too much poses a serious risk. The average American adult spends up to 10 hours of each day sitting, and all that down time has serious consequences. According to recent research, too much sitting is more dangerous than smoking and kills more people than serious diseases like HIV.
Still not convinced? Consider these scary complications associated with sitting too much.
Organ Damage
Spending too much time sitting has a serious impact on several major organs. Sitting causes your blood to flow slower and makes your muscles burn less fat. This makes it easier for fatty acids to build up in your heart. Sitting for 10 or more hours per day could significantly increase your risk of developing heart disease.
Inactivity also causes your pancreas to produce excess amounts of insulin, increasing your risk of diabetes. In fact, sitting for more than eight hours daily increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 90%.
Too much sitting can even increase your risk of several types of cancer, including breast, colon and endometrial, lung and uterine cancer.
Posture Problems
You may feel more comfortable sitting than standing, but it could cause serious posture problems and pain. If you spend a significant part of your day sitting at your desk or cradling a telephone to your ear, you likely hold your head and neck in a forward position. This puts strain on the vertebrae in your neck and commonly causes upper back, neck and shoulder pain.
Back pain is one of the most common causes of missed work and disability, and spending hours upon hours sitting contributes to this epidemic. Sitting puts significantly more pressure on your spine than sitting and compresses the discs. When compressed, the discs are unable to properly absorb nutrients and blood, causing them to degenerate and lose flexibility over time.
Shorter Lifespan
If you want to live a long, healthy life, don’t spend your days sitting, Research indicates that the more hours you spend sitting, the shorter your life may be. Cutting back to spending only three hours per day sitting or less could add two years to your life.
Research also indicates that sitting too much is even more dangerous to your health than smoking cigarettes. While each cigarette you smoke shortens your life expectancy by about 11 minutes, every hour spent sitting after the age of 25 could be reducing your life expectancy by 22 minutes.
Too much sitting is extremely dangerous to your health. While you may not be able to quit your desk job, there are several things you can do to stay more active and reduce your risk. Be sure to check back soon for some helpful advice on what you can do to lessen the amount of time you spend sitting and reduce your risk of serious health problems. If you’re feeling the painful effects of spending too much time at your desk, behind the wheel or in front of the television, contact Denver Physical Medicine today. Call 303-757-7280.
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Discover how physical therapy can help manage scoliosis in mild to moderate cases, along with other ways it offers healthcare solutions. Learn more from Dr. Mansi Dua, DPT, C2 Schroth Certified.
