Work, study, and certain activities sometimes require a person to spend a lot of time sitting, a position that restricts movement and can sometimes be uncomfortable. Science has even shown that sitting for several hours has serious health consequences, especially when it becomes a habit during free time.
This is endorsed by the American Cancer Society, from where a study was carried out in order to explore the relationship between said position and the mortality rates of people. In their work they considered 22 causes of death, including 8 of the 10 most common in the world.
The research, whose publication dates from 2018, pointed out that people who claimed to have spent more hours of their free time sitting showed higher risks of mortality due to “cancer, stroke, diabetes, kidney failure, suicide, coronary heart disease, disease pulmonary, liver disease, peptic ulcer and other digestive diseases, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, nervous imbalance and musculoskeletal disorders”, according to the results referenced by the American Cancer Society.
For its part, from the portal of health and nutrition Better with Health They comment that another of the consequences derived from a sedentary lifestyle or long periods of time sitting is obesity, especially when no type of physical activity is carried out.
Among the list of conditions that can be caused by this habit is the deviation of the spine, a condition that sometimes responds to poor posture maintained while sitting. Thus, they need from Better with Health, When a person is not properly seated, they are likely to develop scoliosis or deviation of the spine over time, because the natural position of the spine is not preserved.
According to Baptist Health’s medical broadcast portal, the term ‘sitting disease’ has been coined to group together some of the discomforts triggered by a sedentary lifestyle, including metabolic disorders, for example.
For LB Irigoyen, wellness coach with Baptist Health South Florida, referenced by the portal, “the pain you may have after sitting for a long time is your body’s way of telling you that your range of motion is being limited. This leads to a higher chance of injury, which can affect quality of life.”
Equally, poor circulation has been associated with sitting for long hours, as explained from better with health, since there is no movement in the lower limbs, making it more complex for the blood to circulate properly, causing varicose veins or venous thrombosis.
Precisely, this lack of mobility can also alter the functioning of intestinal transit, causing digestive problems, such as constipation and constipation. “If you have trouble going to the bathroom regularly, it is best not to sit for a long time so that your problem does not get worse,” they add from the health portal.
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In this line, specialists provide some recommendations to avoid conditions related to sitting and poor posture. Everyone agrees that the main one is to try to take active breaks in constant periods. A simple technique shared by Baptist Health is to move for at least two minutes for every half hour of sitting.
“Stand while attending meetings or other social activities, while eating breakfast or while talking on the phone,” they add.
In addition, from Better with Health advise stretch while sitting, try to maintain a proper posture and take advantage of free space to move.