Sitting For Too Long Is A Legit Disease, But You Can Walk Away Unharmed

Recently we received this particularly sensational email – subject line: The Sitting Disease – how inactivity can lead us to an early grave & what you can do to prevent it – warning us against sitting for too long otherwise we might like, be dead before we know it, but also, here are some tips to avoid such an untimely end. We reacted accordingly:

Get Australia Standing, an organisation committed to getting us to rise above it, reports that Aussies sit for an average of 10 hours a day, with 6.3 of those hours perched at work. Corporate health and performance expert Dr. Linda Friedman says sitting anywhere for that long shuts off the electrical activity in your legs —> reducing blood flow in your body —> slowing down your metabolism —>  causing your blood sugar and fat to go nowhere ==> and now we got bad blood health risks. 

She recommends getting up and stretching every 30 to 60 minutes, which is much easier said than done, so here are some practical tips for haulin’ ass off that seat –

Be an over-achiever and hit two health goals with the one bottle. By making a habit of drinking more, not only are you constantly getting up to refill your bottle, but you’re also provided with ample natural motivation to answer your bladder’s reliably-timed calls. Moreover, you’re contributing to your 2L p/day fluids quota so it’s a win-win.

“It sounds strange at first, but the walking meeting is growing in popularity,” says Dr Friedman. Meetings you’d traditionally have in the office, over the phone, via email, or at a cafe, can be done on the go.

People with FitBits are strangely obsessed with them, but a wearable tracker or fitness tracking app might be exactly the kind of black and white truth you need to get things moving. The first *step* to solving a problem is realising you have one.

Make the most of your lunch break and do something active with your free time. e.g. go for a swim, get your clothes dry-cleaned/tailored, grab lunch somewhere out of the way, schedule midday appointments, etc.”Walking increases your blood circulation, your metabolic rate and your fat burning by more than 100%,” says Dr Friedman.

“Utilising an exercise ball for part of the day is an effective way to use more leg and core muscles and burn of extra calories.” Also, intermittent standing behind your desk can help alarm your colleagues, to an extent: “Standing increases energy levels, but it’s not the only answer as it has its own problems such as exacerbating back pain.”