Sitting Is a Killer

What are you doing right now?

Chances are you're sitting at your desk as you read this. We sit on the couch to watch TV, get up to sit in our cars, sit at our desks at work and then repeat this vicious cycle the next day. Nearly all of us are guilty of spending too much time on our bums.

Unless you're one of the lucky few (like me) who work on her feet, you're probably sitting down for at least 8 hours a day. The unfortunate truth is that, even if you workout semi-regularly, when we sit, we are wreaking havoc on our bodies. Low back pain? Tight hips? These things are likely the result of you being seated for extended periods of time.

Human beings are not meant to be sedentary animals. We evolved as hunter-gatherers, and at that time, we were probably not sitting for any length of time; we were out on our feet for hours on end trying to find food to feed our families. Even when we were sitting, we weren't sitting in a "chair" as we know it today--we were probably sitting on the ground or a stone/stump/something of the like. We are meant to be active, and our bodies were made to move.

Image courtesy of www.drfox.co.uk

So why is sitting so dangerous? For one, when we sit, our hamstrings are shortened, and our glute activation turns off. Further, our hips are closed for extended periods of time. Our bodies adapt to what we do often, and if sitting is what we are most frequently doing, it will adapt to sitting! If our hips and hamstrings are shortened for extended periods of time, our muscles and connective tissues become adaptively short to accommodate this position. It is no wonder why our society is so inflexible!

Here are some other scary truths about sitting:

• Energy expenditure drops to 1 calorie per minute
• Fat burning enzymes decrease their rate by 90%
• After two hours of sitting, your HDL cholesterol drops by 20%
• People with sitting jobs are 2 times more likely to get some form of cardiovascular disease
• Sitting time has increased by over 8% since 1980

So what are your options? The standing workstation has gained a lot of popularity within the past year or two. If this is not feasible for you, your best bet is getting up every 30-45 minutes and stretching, maybe taking a lap or two around the office.


Sources:

1. Starrett, Kelly, and Glen Cordoza. Becoming a Supple Leopard: The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance. Las Vegas: Victory Belt Pub., 2013. Print.
2. Polyakov, Dmitry. "Home." Total Physical Therapy. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2013.
3. Waxman, M., and A. Stunkard. "Caloric Intake and Expenditure of Obese Boys." The Journal of Pediatrics 96.2 (1980): 187-93. Print.
4. Beach, Tyson A.C., Robert J. Parkinson, J. Peter Stothart, and Jack P. Callaghan. "Effects of Prolonged Sitting on the Passive Flexion Stiffness of the in Vivo Lumbar Spine." The Spine Journal 5.2 (2005): 145-54. Print.