Stand More, Sit Less

While growing up, I was told, “Never stand when you can sit, and do not sit when you can lie, for in so doing, you save energy and prolong life.” Now I know better – sit less and stand more. This should be your life mantra as sitting has led to the untimely death of many and resulted in avoidable injuries and health conditions. In some cases, it has also destroyed homes and families.

The human body is designed for regular movement. However, many spend majority of their waking hours sitting still in one position as studies have shown that on the average, an adult spends 9 to 10-hours each day sitting which is longer than what 30 or 60-minute workout can counteract.

There are two kinds of sedentary people – passive and active sedentary. While it is easy to recognize passive sedentary persons as people who do nothing to stay active, actively sedentary people do early morning or late evening exercises for an hour or more but spend the rest of the day sitting. Prolonged sitting can shorten one’s lifespan by several years, people who sit for more than six hours a day are about 20 (male) to 40 (females) percent more likely to die than those who sat fewer than three hours per day, and those who work a sedentary job have almost twice the risk of colon cancer.

This is worsened by the fact that many who love sitting do not see sitting as inherently dangerous to their health and wellbeing. While a brief period of sitting is acceptable, extended periods of sitting can seriously impact one’s health and can shorten lifespan. This is because movement and activities activate the insulin system which improves cellular metabolism of blood sugar, triglycerides, and cholesterol, and thus push fuel into cells thereby decrease the risk of diabetes and obesity. Sitting down for long shuts down and negatively affects various biochemical activities in the body. Prolonged periods of sitting in a day, week or months can result in a number health challenges including, but not limited to, chronic heart disease, pancreas disease and diabetes, cancer of the colon, breast, and endometrial cancers, brain damage, and skeletal problems such as back pain, strained neck and shoulders, varicose veins, hip problems and weak bones. Poor circulation resulting from sitting for a long time can lead to ankle swelling, varicose veins, and blood clots known as deep vein thrombosis(DVT). Also, sitting puts more pressure on the spine than standing and increases the risk of herniated disks.

Other challenges include in-digestion as sitting after you just ate can result in sluggish digestion that leads to cramping, bloating, heartburn, and constipation, as well as dysbiosis in your gastrointestinal tract. Reducing the average time spent sitting to less than three hours a day could increase your life expectancy by two years.

To sit less, one must actively reduce the number of hours they sit while working, watching television, or being a spectator in a game or field event. For instance, in the office, one can work standing, one can walk around at intervals or even go into somebody’s office to discuss an issue rather than just sending an e-mail. At home, one can reduce the duration of time spent on the sofa watching movies and television. There is new office furniture that supports standing and working.

To minimize sitting, there is a need for lifestyle changes involving high-intensity exercises in gyms several times every week or month and non-exercise movement which includes Management By Walking Around (MBWA).

It is important that you just get up and move. As you may be accustomed to sitting while working, eating, and watching television. You may need a gradual lifestyle change. You can also use any of the wearable fitness trackers to track your health status. Setting goals per day on a number of steps can help reduce sedentary lifestyle.

Seemingly minor changes at work and home can help you live a healthier life. For instance, walking into a coworker’s office to talk instead of sending an email, taking the stairs instead of an elevator, walking to the office rather than driving, and taking the longer route to your office. These, are ways of increasing metabolism and reducing passive or active sedentary. One can also organize the workstation to allow for movement while making phone calls, printing materials, photocopying documents, or searching for files.

Standing to work is a better option. In some circumstances, you can set a timer that will remind you to stand and move about at various intervals during the day. When the timer goes off, you can stand, walk, or do a few simple exercises by your desk or in your office.

It is therefore important to learn to make sitting your last option. This lifestyle change might take a lot of commitment and discipline to achieve but is worth the effort. Once you are able to achieve this, with time standing will be as comfortable as sitting.