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Why should you do stretching exercises at your desk? To prevent sitting disease!
Apr 17, 2019
Did you know that the average American spends about 55% of their waking hours every day sitting???
This adds up to almost 8 hours everyday sitting, and this finding is on the low end, with other studies that many people are sedentary (ie: not moving) for 12 or more hours everyday. WOWZERS!!
So what does this all this sitting mean for your health?
Remember how we talked about how Sitting is the New Smoking ie: how all that time parked in a chair is not only wreaking havoc on your derriere, but also your health? Well unfortunately, it’s true and it even has its own name: SITTING DISEASE! “The growing body of research on sitting disease has found a strong correlation between long periods of sitting and elevated risk of illness or injury.” YIKES!!!…..like what you might be asking yourself????
It turns out that sitting for so long everyday puts someone at a higher risk for:
- weight gain (especially around the midsection where it poses a higher health risk)
- high blood sugar
- high blood pressure
- high cholesterol (LDL)
- low levels of the good cholesterol (HDL)
All of these symptoms combine to make up what is called Metabolic Syndrome and put someone at a higher risk for Type 2 Diabetes, Heart Disease, Stroke and other health issues.
I know these facts are scary, but thankfully there is good news!! This same research is showing us that by taking regular movement breaks, to stand up more and sit less we can shift the odds in our favor and reduce the effects of chronic sitting. WHEW!
Standing desks are a great option to help you with this. Standing is a much more natural position for your body and helps you feel more energized and alert. For an in depth guide of standing desks click here to check out a thorough report.
So what can we do? Stand up more often and do some stretching exercises!
Standing up and taking short breaks to move, stretch and breathe is an excellent way to:
- tone and strengthen your muscles, which boost your metabolism so you burn more calories
- keep your bones, joints and organs healthy
- deliver more oxygen and nutrients to your brain so you feel more energized and alert
- improve your circulation and improve your heart health and cholesterol levels
- boost awareness for greater concentration and productivity
- improves your posture so you have less tension and pain
- gives you a natural energy boost!
So set yourself a timer for 30 minutes and when it goes off STAND UP AND MOVE! If you have the set up to work standing you can do the next thirty minutes of work upright!
Want some inspiration on how to stretch out your tight spots and wake up sleepy muscles? Click here to download a free "10 Ways to Take a 1 Minute Yoga Break Cheatsheet" . This great reference is full of moves to help you relax the aches and pains of working on a computer all day!