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The Dangers of a Sedentary Lifestyle & How to Overcome It
Movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUEl8KrMz14#t=159
Wake up. Get ready for work. Sit in the car during traffic for 45 minutes. Arriv
e at work. Sit at desk, check emails and do some work. Move to conference room a
nd yawn your way through an hour-long meeting. Order lunch from your computer wi
thout getting up. Lunch arrives. Eat at your desk while simultaneously browsing
the Internet and preparing that memo. Sit for another few hours.
Get back in the car. Drive half hour to the gym. Spend an hour working out. Driv
e home. Prepare dinner. Grab a snack and sit on the couch to catch up on your fa
vorite series. Head to bed. Repeat.
It s startling to discover that Americans spend 93 percent of our lifetimes indoor
s and 70 percent of each day sitting. (1, 2) But when you reflect on the average
day for most people, it s just as startling how accurate it is and how sedentary
our lifestyles have become.
While it
k around
ffect on
ssed and

might feel more comfortable to kick back in an armchair than take a wal
the neighborhood, living a sedentary lifestyle has a direct, negative e
our health and wellness. It s why we re seemingly always tired, always stre
always struggling to lose weight as a society.

Why a Sedentary Lifestyle Stinks


The human body was designed to move. For thousands of years, that s exactly what h
umans did. Much of it was for survival: We moved to gather food, escape predator
s and migrate to more forgiving land.
Even as humans advanced, our bodies were in motion. Long days of farmwork, trudg
ing into town for school or supplies, and other factors of everyday living meant
there was little time for our ancestors to rest on their laurels. In the mid-20
th century, however, technological advances, a rise in car culture and a shift f
rom physically demanding work to office jobs began chipping away at our physical
activity.
Today, at a time when we have more choices than ever in almost every aspect of o
ur lives, most of us choose to be stationary.
But how does not moving regularly take a toll on our health? The World Health Or
ganization estimates that a lack of physical activity is associated with 3.2 mil
lion deaths a year. (3) Let us count the ways.
1. Heart Disease
Sitting for too long means your muscles aren t burning as much fat as they could b
e and your blood is flowing through your body at a slower pace, giving fatty aci
ds a better chance of clogging your heart which can lead to coronary heart disea
se. One study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that th
e more time men spent sitting in cars and watching television, the more likely t
hey were to have some type of cardiovascular disease. (4)
2. Diabetes Risk
When you re not moving, your body isn t using as much blood sugar
and that s not a goo
d thing. A study of more than 80,000 people found each hour they spent watching

TV increased their risk of developing diabetes by 3.4 percent. (5)


ill doesn t sound so fun now, does it?

Netflix and ch

That s why exercise is one of the best natural treatments for diabetes, while a la
ck of physical activity is one of the leading causes for developing diabetes.
3. Reduced Circulation
Remaining stationary for too long slows blood circulation to the legs, which can
lead to swollen ankles, blood clots, swelling and pain. At the scarier end is d
eep vein thrombosis, when a blood clot forms in your legs. The clot can eventual
ly break free and obstruct other parts of your body, including your lungs. (6)
4. Fuzzy Thinking
Ironically, sitting down to work can actually lead to trouble concentrating. Whe
n we re not moving, there s less blood being pumped throughout our bodies, including
our brains. This slows down our cognitive functions and leads to brain fog. (7)
5. Loss of Muscle and Bone Strength
Forget flexing: We need our bodies to maintain lean muscle tissue so we can perf
orm our daily tasks without hurting or taxing our bodies. With a sedentary lifes
tyle, that all changes. Ordinary events, like grocery shopping or picking things
up, become much more difficult. This becomes especially important in older adul
ts, who are already losing muscle mass and bone strength. (8)
The kicker with our sedentary lifestyles is that even if you exercise regularly,
it might not be enough to combat all those hours you spend sitting at work or i
n the car. A review in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute analyzed 43
studies, totaling about 4 million people, that dealt with people s sitting behavio
r and their incidences of cancer.
Researchers found that adjusting for physical activity didn t budge the link betwe
en a sedentary lifestyle and cancer. We spend so much time not moving that even
those 30 minutes at the gym aren t enough to counteract all those hours at our des
ks. (9)
Are you standing yet? The good news is that you can prevent the effects of a sed
entary lifestyle, even if you do work in an office environment and none of them
include exercising more.
The dangers of a sedentary lifestyle - Dr. Axe
How to Not Be a Couch Potato and Get Moving
1. Set an Alarm
Use your smartphone for good, not evil. Set an alarm to remind you to get up
move, ideally about five to eight times throughout your workday. Whether it
ply getting up and stretching, working on your feet for 10 minutes, taking a
k around the office, or going for a quick stroll outside, it ll do your body

and
s sim
wal
good.

2. Have Walking Meetings


Keep your brain engaged and your legs moving by scheduling walking meetings with
your team. If the weather and/or your co-workers aren t cooperating, try heading
outdoors solo the next time you need to brainstorm or be creative. Being up on y
our feet and not slumped in a chair can spark your creativity as your body sends
blood to the brain. Plus, you can walk to lose weight at the same time!

3. Walk and Talk Instead of Sending Emails


How many emails do you send to co-workers a day? Cut back on the electronic clut
ter, and walk over to your colleagues desks to hammer out details instead. It ll cu
t down on all the back-and-forth messages while keeping your body active.
Need more inspiration? Try these:
Gossip on the phone while walking around the house instead of sitting on the couc
h.
Pick up your lunch instead of ordering delivery.
Do calisthenics instead of lounging while watching TV.
Get up and dance the next time your favorite song is on the radio.
You might have to sit on your bum several hours a day, but there s no reason you c
an t take a stand and change your sedentary lifestyle.
Sedentary Lifestyle Takeaways
Americans spend 93 percent of our lifetimes indoors
and 70 percent of each day si
tting.
The World Health Organization estimates that a lack of physical activity is assoc
iated with 3.2 million deaths a year.
A sedentary lifestyle increases the leads to heart disease, an increased risk of
diabetes, reduced circulation, fuzzy thinking, and loss of muscle and bone stren
gth.
You can combat a sedentary lifestyle by setting an alarm clock, having walking me
etings, walking and talking instead of sending emails, walking around when you re
on phone as opposed to sitting, picking up your lunch instead of ordering delive
ry, doing calisthenics instead of lounging while watching TV, and getting up and
dancing when your favorite song comes on, to name a few.

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