Post by Lone Wanderer on Feb 4, 2019 18:24:00 GMT
There's no running away from it: The more you sit, the poorer your health and the earlier you may die, no matter how fit you are.
You've no doubt heard the news by now: A car-commuting, desk-bound, TV-watching lifestyle can be harmful to your health. All the time we spend parked behind a steering wheel, slumped over a keyboard, or kicked back in front of the tube is linked to increased risks of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and even depression—to the point where experts have labeled this modern-day health epidemic the "sitting disease."
But wait, you're a runner. You needn't worry about the harms of sedentary living because you're active, right? Well, not so fast. A growing body of research shows that people who spend many hours of the day glued to a seat die at an earlier age than those who sit less—even if those sitters exercise.
But wait, you're a runner. You needn't worry about the harms of sedentary living because you're active, right? Well, not so fast. A growing body of research shows that people who spend many hours of the day glued to a seat die at an earlier age than those who sit less—even if those sitters exercise.
Heart disease and diabetes aren't the only health hazards active couch potatoes face. The American Institute for Cancer Research now links prolonged sitting with increased risk of both breast and colon cancers. "Sitting time is emerging as a strong candidate for being a cancer risk factor in its own right," says Neville Owen, Ph.D., head of the Behavioral Epidemiology Laboratory at Australia's Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute. "Emerging evidence suggests that the longer you sit, the higher your risk. It also seems that exercising won't compensate for too much sitting." According to Alberta Health Services-Cancer Care in Canada, inactivity is linked to 49,000 cases of breast cancer, 43,000 cases of colon cancer, 37,200 cases of lung cancer, and 30,600 cases of prostate cancer a year.
As if that weren't enough to put you in a sad state, a 2013 survey of nearly 30,000 women found that those who sat nine or more hours a day were more likely to be depressed than those who sat fewer than six hours a day because prolonged sitting reduces circulation, causing fewer feel-good hormones to reach your brain.
Scared straight out of your chair? Good. Because the remedy is as simple as standing up and taking activity breaks. Stuart McGill, Ph.D., director of the Spine Biomechanics Laboratory at the University of Waterloo says that interrupting your sedentary time as often as possible and making frequent posture changes is important. "Even breaks as short as one minute can improve your health," he says. Developing healthier habits will also improve your running performance, says Nikki Reiter, biomechanist with The Run S.M.A.R.T. Project. The combination of going for a run and then parking your butt for the rest of the day (or vice versa) could be a recipe for injury. "The static sitting position can cause certain muscles to become tight or overstretched, neither of which is good for your running," she says. Even if you went for a really intense or long run, regular activity throughout the day will help your recovery. So stand up now: It's good for your body and mind.
As if that weren't enough to put you in a sad state, a 2013 survey of nearly 30,000 women found that those who sat nine or more hours a day were more likely to be depressed than those who sat fewer than six hours a day because prolonged sitting reduces circulation, causing fewer feel-good hormones to reach your brain.
Scared straight out of your chair? Good. Because the remedy is as simple as standing up and taking activity breaks. Stuart McGill, Ph.D., director of the Spine Biomechanics Laboratory at the University of Waterloo says that interrupting your sedentary time as often as possible and making frequent posture changes is important. "Even breaks as short as one minute can improve your health," he says. Developing healthier habits will also improve your running performance, says Nikki Reiter, biomechanist with The Run S.M.A.R.T. Project. The combination of going for a run and then parking your butt for the rest of the day (or vice versa) could be a recipe for injury. "The static sitting position can cause certain muscles to become tight or overstretched, neither of which is good for your running," she says. Even if you went for a really intense or long run, regular activity throughout the day will help your recovery. So stand up now: It's good for your body and mind.