What Is Sitting Disease?
In the 1980s, Nancy Reagan stood in front of the White House and said, “Just say no.” We declared a war on drugs, and we’re still fighting that battle. Now it’s only a matter of time until the First Lady gets in front of the White House and says “Just say no” to prolonged sitting. Researchers are finding that prolonged, uninterrupted periods of sitting — a/k/a “sitting disease” — contributes to a host of health-related problems and issues: cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, orthopedic problems. There are some correlations now with cancer. Prolonged sitting also affects our metabolic health, with risk factors including a large waistline, high blood pressure, and high triglycerides. After about 25 minutes of sitting, your body goes into a mode like a computer would in sleep mode, and bad things start to happen.
Over the last 16 years, I’ve seen a pattern emerging with my new patients, consistent issues that they’re all having: lower back pain; discomfort in the neck and shoulder area; repetitive stress injuries like carpal tunnel; headaches; TMJ. And they all have one thing in common: they sit all day. The fact is, the human spine is not built for sitting. We’re not genetically wired for it. And yet we’re immobile, some estimates say, about 80 percent of our day.
What’s heartening about sitting disease is that, unlike the very complicated war on drugs, the cure here is as simple as standing up and walking around. If you have a standing desk, terrific. But if you don’t, no problem. Just stand up every 30 minutes or every hour. Break the sitting cycle.
In the 1980s, Nancy Reagan stood in front of the White House and said, “Just say no.” We declared a war on drugs, and we’re still fighting that battle. Now it’s only a matter of time until the First Lady gets in front of the White House and says “Just say no” to prolonged sitting. Researchers are finding that prolonged, uninterrupted periods of sitting — a/k/a “sitting disease” — contributes to a host of health-related problems and issues: cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, orthopedic problems. There are some correlations now with cancer. Prolonged sitting also affects our metabolic health, with risk factors including a large waistline, high blood pressure, and high triglycerides. After about 25 minutes of sitting, your body goes into a mode like a computer would in sleep mode, and bad things start to happen.
Over the last 16 years, I’ve seen a pattern emerging with my new patients, consistent issues that they’re all having: lower back pain; discomfort in the neck and shoulder area; repetitive stress injuries like carpal tunnel; headaches; TMJ. And they all have one thing in common: they sit all day. The fact is, the human spine is not built for sitting. We’re not genetically wired for it. And yet we’re immobile, some estimates say, about 80 percent of our day.
What’s heartening about sitting disease is that, unlike the very complicated war on drugs, the cure here is as simple as standing up and walking around. If you have a standing desk, terrific. But if you don’t, no problem. Just stand up every 30 minutes or every hour. Break the sitting cycle.
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