Don’t Over Sit Your Welcome

In this week's challenge you must Not Sit too long . Sitting is not as evil as it’s being made out to be now, but it is tremendously important that we don’t “over sit” our welcome. We need to stand more throughout the day, even if that’s while chatting with friends, talking on the phone, or just getting up in between nightly relaxing activities before bed. If you like to watch television, be sure not to sit there for hours on end while doing so. If you work at a computer all day, get up and move around or try to stand and work however possible. Sitting too long makes you tired, can cause brain fog, increases your insulin levels, and slows down your metabolism. It can even lead to a bad mood, and antsy nature. The body likes to move; give it what it needs.

Health hazards of sitting:

1. Muscle degeneration
   • MUSHY ABS

   When you stand, move or even sit up straight, abdominal muscles keep you upright. But when you slump in a chair, they go unused. Tight back muscles and wimpy abs form a posture-wrecking alliance that can exaggerate the spine's natural arch, a condition called hyperlordosis, or swayback.

   • TIGHT HIPS

   Flexible hips help keep you balanced, but chronic sitters so rarely extend the hip flexor muscles in front that they become short and tight, limiting range of motion and stride length. Studies have found that decreased hip mobility is a main reason elderly people tend to fall.

   • LIMP GLUTES

   Sitting requires your glutes to do absolutely nothing, and they get used to it. Soft glutes hurt your stability, your ability to push off and your ability to maintain a powerful stride.



2. Leg disorders
   • POOR CIRCULATION IN LEGS

   Sitting for long periods of time slows blood circulation, which causes fluid to pool in the legs. Problems range from swollen ankles and varicose veins to dangerous blood clots called deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

   • SOFT BONES

   Weight-bearing activities such as walking and running stimulate hip and lower-body bones to grow thicker, denser and stronger. Scientists partially attribute the recent surge in cases of osteoporosis to lack of activity.



3. Mortality of sitting
   • People who watched the most TV in an 8.5-year study had a 61 percent greater risk of dying than those who watched less than one hour per day.


4. Trouble at the top
   • FOGGY BRAIN

   Moving muscles pump fresh blood and oxygen through the brain and trigger the release of all sorts of brain- and mood-enhancing chemicals. When we are sedentary for a long time, everything slows, including brain function.

   • STRAINED NECK

   If most of your sitting occurs at a desk at work, craning your neck forward toward a keyboard or tilting your head to cradle a phone while typing can strain the cervical vertebrae and lead to permanent imbalances.

   • SORE SHOULDERS AND BACK

   The neck doesn't slouch alone. Slumping forward overextends shoulder and back muscles as well, particularly the trapezius, which connects the neck and shoulders.



5. Bad back
   • INFLEXIBLE SPINE

   When we move, soft discs between vertebrae expand and contract like sponges, soaking up fresh blood and nutrients. But when we sit for a long time, discs are squashed unevenly. Collagen hardens around tendons and ligaments.

   • DISK DAMAGE

   People who sit more are at greater risk for herniated lumbar disks. A muscle called the psoas travels through the abdominal cavity and, when it tightens, pulls the upper lumbar spine forward. Upper-body weight rests entirely on the ischial tuberosity (sitting bones) instead of being distributed along the arch of the spine.

   • SORE SHOULDERS AND BACK

   The neck doesn't slouch alone. Slumping forward overextends shoulder and back muscles as well, particularly the trapezius, which connects the neck and shoulders.

Suggested Reading:

How to Improve Posture For a Healthy Back - Learn more here.

Five Reasons to Sit Up Straight - Learn more here.

4 ways to turn good posture into less back pain - Learn more here.