Skip to main content

Sitting for long hours is harmful for health. Standing more often will help.

sitting womanDo you lead a sedentary lifestyle? Are you a couch potato and spend most of your time lazing cozily in your favorite armchair? If so, your risk factors of counteracting diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and obesity are too high. The International Osteoporosis society reports that women who sit for more than 9 hours a day are 50% more likely to break a hip than those who sit less than 6 hours a day. Health concerns and occasional guilt pangs about your lifestyle might probably drive you to reserve a fixed period during the day for some kind of exercise. But is this enough to ward off the various risks involved with your inactive lifestyle?

New research shows that it is a misconception that actively exercising is the only way to make a healthy difference in an otherwise sedentary lifestyle. The researchers have found that physical inactivity throughout the day stimulated disease-promoting processes, and that exercising, even for an hour a day, was not sufficient to reverse the effect. What you do in your waking period during the day and when you are not actively exercising also counts. The solution that they recommend is that you should stand and move about frequently while doing your chores to maintain optimal metabolism throughout your waking period. They add that given the work of muscles necessary to hold the body’s weight upright, standing actually doubles the metabolic rate. So stand more, sit less and flex your muscles more often even while performing simple day-to-day tasks for good health. A fixed exercise-regimen alone cannot combat the ill-effects of prolonged sitting or an otherwise sedentary lifestyle.

Labels:

Comments

  1. SageRave2:28 AM

    This is great timing withthe holidays coming.

    I know that I tend to stay inside and type away at the computer without getting up and moving around unless the phone rings for a Tarot reading. Then I stand as I pull cards and advise the caller.

    It's important to look at the clock and set target times for getting up and out of the chair. This reminder will keep you aware of how long you have been sitting!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Aparna1:51 PM

    Hi Sagerave, Are you a tarot card reader?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unknown6:14 AM

    This article has been included in the latest edition of Mom's Blogging Carnival

    ReplyDelete
  4. CindyPTN7:58 AM

    With my husband around the past two weeks, I have spent way too much time working on the computer. This is a great article to motivate us to move around more. Thank you for contributing to Fitness for Moms Carnival.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Miriam12:20 PM

    Wonderful article featured in the October 10 Holistic Health Blog Carnival at http://healthyselfnaturally.blogspot.com/2010/10/october-10-holistic-health-blog.html

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kartik9:00 AM

    Depends on how your sitting .

    ReplyDelete
  7. Chandran9:01 AM

    Sitting in one position will make muscles that are already tight go into pain. When you walk the pain goes away for the pressure is changed on your spine. To keep that from happening again you have to free up your back muscles to get them out of that tight state and you should be pain free. Here's how to free them up for you:

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sulakshana9:01 AM

    Have some time to stand up. Even if you have the best ergonomic chair in the world, it's still fundamental that you can find time to stand up and get away from your chair. This way, you can stretch out and exercise for a bit.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous9:10 AM

    Make sure that your feet are on the floor.Your back should be attached to the chair's back.Shoulders should be straight.Proper sitting posture can go a long way toward achieving optimal health. You would be taking care of not only your back but also your spinal cord.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ayushman9:17 AM

    Place your left hand on your left leg next to your body. Place your right hand over your left shoulder, fingers over the back and the palm in the front and firmly pull down on them and hold. After 30 seconds slowly lower your body forward and to the outside of your left leg, keeping your left arm fairly straight as you do. When you reach your lap remain there for another 10 seconds, release the pressure but rest there for another 30 seconds. Then reverse your hand positions and do your right side.
    For best results relax your body first by taking a deep breath and exhaling then remain this relaxed.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Comments posted on this blog are moderated and approved only if they are relevant, on-topic and not abusive. Avoid using links to your site/blog in the body of your comment unless it is highly relevant to the post.

Popular posts from this blog

Aspirin for acne-prone skin

Aspirin has been around for a long time and its health benefits are wide and varied. Aspirin , or acetylsalicylic acid is a salicylate drug, often used as an analgesic to relieve minor aches and pains , as an antipyretic to reduce fever , and as an anti-inflammatory medication. Aspirin's greatest benefit is reducing cardiovascular events including heart attacks and strokes. According to the American Heart Assoc. virtually all women are at risk of heart disease and doctors should more strongly consider prescribing a daily aspirin for their female patients. There is growing evidence to suggest regular aspirin use may reduce cancer and dementia as well. Investigators from the Women's Health Study have reported important new findings demonstrating that aspirin reduces the risk of a first stroke in women. When given to someone immediately after a heart attack, aspirin decreases death by 25%.
293 comments
Continue reading »

Kapalabhati Pranayam for wrinkle-free, radiant complexion

Did you know that Kapalabhati Pranayam / kriya can also be used to enhance your beauty and ward off skin aging? Done the right way,  Kapalabhati Pranayam can be used as a beauty aid - it can give you a wrinkle-free, luminous forehead and radiant complexion. Kapalabhati For Beauty   ‘Kapalabhati’ Pranayam breathing exercise is an excellent way of maintaining good health and fighting diseases. ‘Kapala’ means ‘skull’ (and ‘forehead’ also) and ‘bhati’ means ‘shining’. By doing kapalabhati, the ‘nadis’(nerves) of the brain get good exercise. This is achieved by exercising the diaphragm. There will be a glow on the forehead. After the age of 25, the tell-tale signs of ageing start making their appearance in the form of fine lines on the forehead. A regular practice of Kapalabhati for 10-15 minutes everyday will give you a tight forehead sans wrinkles for many years to come. Avoid Botox, try Kapalabhati Why resort to Botox   and other expensive chemical or surgica...
160 comments
Continue reading »

Lemon as a beauty aid

The diminutive lemon is a very versatile beauty-aid and this cheap and golden-coloured fruit has excellent properties for enhancing your looks. Simple lemon-based preparations, you can mix in your own kitchen, will surely bring a dramatic transformation in your beauty regimen.
101 comments
Continue reading »

Aloevera, the wonder herb

Of all the herbs available in the kitchen garden, aloe is perhaps the richest in healing properties and has been rightly named the “first-aid” plant. It has moisturizing and emollient properties and is used in cosmetic creams, sun-lotions, shaving creams and face packs. It can easily be cultivated as a house-plant in a sunny warm spot with good drainage. Cosmetologists mix aloe with several other herbs and draft fancy names for it. Then these “herbal” avatars are sold at exorbitant prices. Growing a plant and using fresh gel is much more effective than bottled gel, simply because it is alive and therefore is more potent. It is the only plant whose extract is applied directly from plant to face in its natural and purest form.
121 comments
Continue reading »

I Tried a Headache Balm and Ended Up with Rashes

I do have this habit of slathering pain balms whenever I have a headache. But never did I get a skin reaction or rashes from it. It so happened that I had an extremely severe headache a few months ago.  The pain was so unbearable that I gingerly reached out for a pain balm kept on my bedside table and kept on slathering it repeatedly all over the temples of my forehead. Next morning, after I woke up, I found that the skin on my forehead was peeling off and worse there were red rashes!  This was the first time in my life that I was getting rashes from applying a pain balm on my forehead !  I have never had any pain balm allergy or as such!  Side-effects due to application of a pain balm  was something I've never come across all these years! I usually use pain balms of reputed companies – my usual favourites are Tiger balm, Amrutanjan, Zandu balm and Sloan’s balm.  This time I had used Tiger balm. But why did it  give me rashes now, when I had used it...
Post a Comment
Continue reading »