WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SEDENTARY? . . . Sitting on the couch is sedentary. Working at a desk all day is sedentary. Anytime you are sitting, sitting, sitting and not moving, not giving your muscles a chance to do their thing, and not giving your heart a jolt - you are being sedentary. And being sedentary comes with a lot of health risks, such as:
1. Back and muscle strain. If you've ever spent all day in a car or at a desk, you know that sitting for hours on end can result in tight and stiff hamstrings and tight hamstrings force your back to work extra hard.
2. Heart Disease. Early research has found that people who work at jobs that require sitting have a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease than people with jobs that require standing and moving.
3. Obesity and diabetes. In a large study of female nurses, television watching was associated with an elevated risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
BREAK IT UP: Try to sit less. And anytime you're in a situation where you have to sit, get up every 20 minutes and MOVE!!!!
What type of work/lifestyle do you have? Do you sit all day? If so, how many hours are you just sitting? TV - do you watch more than ONE hour of TV a day? Get out and walk the dogs, go cook something healthy in the kitchen, go to the grocery store - and park far away so you get some walking in, go for a run, do some jumping jacks, do something to START MOVING a bit more. Sitting and sitting and sitting WILL CATCH UP WITH YOUR HEALTH. Get off the couch every commercial and climb up and down the stairs or dance around. Get up and walk around while you're on the phone. Try to sit less.
💋 xx H
