Today, I re-tweeted an interesting article called “The Good News About Sitting Too Much. In it, the authors discussed ways to counteract the negative effects of prolonged sitting. Prolonged sitting is such a negative health behavior, that leads to so many negative effects, that it has been called “the new smoking”
The negative effects of sitting have been well documented. Sitting too long can damage the heart, may affect the brain and increase the risk of death. Further, it can increase the pain we feel in our necks and backs and contribute to obesity.
The more we know about the negative effects of sitting, the more it seems that we should get up and get moving more often. Prolonged sitting is not just bad for our waistline and heart, it is also bad for multiple areas of our body as well as our brain.
Creative solutions include standing desks and workstations. I even know a local vice president who has a treadmill desk and walks approximately 1-1/2 miles per hour on his treadmill as he is answering his multiple emails.
Exercise before or after work unfortunately, may not be enough to make up for the negative effects of prolonged sitting. It is therefore imperative that you get up multiple times during the day while you’re working and add standing or walking to work activities.
Ask Dr S. 