Sitting takes a heavy toll on health Published March 5, 2015 By Steve Serrette 72nd Air Base Wing Safety Office TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- A lot of people don't think they could acquire an injury from too much sitting. The truth is that you don't need to have a blunt physical trauma in order to get an injury. Yes, injuries may, and very often do, occur from mere sitting. These types of injuries are often referred to as postural strain disorders where there is cumulative and repetitive trauma to any tissue in the body. It is hard to accept the sad reality that many people spend most of their days sitting. The average day may consist of sitting at the desk, in front of a computer monitor, sitting during driving to and from work, sitting in front of a television and sitting during mealtimes. Well, that is quite a lot of sitting. Most of the affected are office workers, students and individuals who make a living through driving. Then, after a long day people get home and continue their sitting regimen at the computer or on the couch watching television. It's a tough and vicious cycle to break because school and most jobs essentially require people to sit for long periods of time. In fact, most people sit an average of 9.3 hours a day, more than they spend sleeping. Research scientists firmly believe that anyone sitting more than six hours a day is at a heightened risk of developing health problems and this much sitting may be as bad as smoking a pack of cigarettes daily. What's wrong with sitting? The negative effects of spending too much time in a chair are numerous. Electrical activity in leg muscles shuts down, the body effectively stops burning calories, enzymes that break down fat drop by 90 percent, HDL cholesterol production drops by 20 percent and the risk of diabetes increases 24 percent. Some studies are even finding that if you regularly sit for long periods of time at work, this habit will take years off your life (even if you exercise regularly). That's not to mention the heightened stress levels and a host of other problems that don't show up for decades. New research is now finding that a sedentary lifestyle is contrary to a person's biological needs and destructive to their overall well-being. The human body has been created to be biologically mobile, not sedentary. One recent study compared adults who spent less than two hours a day in front of the TV or other screen-based entertainment with those who logged more than four hours a day of recreational screen time. Those with greater screen time had: · A nearly 50 percent increased risk of death from any cause · About a 125 percent increased risk of events associated with cardiovascular disease, such as chest pain (angina) or heart attack According to recent research, if Americans cut back on the amount of time spent sitting, it could add years to their life expectancy but, unfortunately, most people spend a large portion of each day in a seated position. The study estimates that reducing the average time you spend sitting down to less than three hours a day could increase your life expectancy by two years. Reducing the time you spend watching TV to less than two hours a day could increase it by almost a year and a half. A second study, published in the October issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine, which included nearly 12,000 Australian adults, concluded that each hour spent watching television after the age of 25 reduces your life expectancy by nearly 22 minutes. To put this into perspective, the authors compared it to smoking -- each cigarette reduces your life expectancy by about 11 minutes. All in all, the researchers found that adults who spend an average of six hours in front of the TV will reduce their life expectancy by just under five years, compared to someone who does not watch TV. Before the invention of television and the computer, humans spent a lot more time on their feet. Now, many people spend most of their days sitting down, whether they're working away at the computer or relaxing in front of the television. All this inactivity is slowly killing us. What are some of the solutions? Keep moving: Do not sit for long periods of time. The maximum should be 30 to 40 minutes straight. Go for a walk, get up and stretch. Spinal extension and range of motion exercises are advisable. Keep in mind that you have to change your position always and take mini breaks because this will aid in distributing the forces which are acting on our bodies. Aside from that, fidgeting might also be good for you. Drink clean, filtered water: Aside from hydrating the entire body and getting rid of toxins, drinking enough fluids will force you to get out of your chair and go to the comfort room. Do not slouch: This unfortunate tendency is often common for desk workers. The head will move forward, the shoulders and the upper part of the back will curl forward and the natural curve of the lower back will be decreased. If practiced for long periods of time, this will give way to upper crossed syndrome (a type of muscle imbalance syndrome). Use a "Standing Desk" -- but use it intermittently along with sitting. Standing to work has long been known to be problematic, it is more tiring, it dramatically increases the risks of carotid atherosclerosis (ninefold) because of the additional load on the circulatory system, and it also increases the risks of varicose veins, so standing all day is unhealthy. The performance of many fine motor skills sometimes diminishes when people stand rather than sit. Also, for standing computer work, the computer fixes the person's posture, there is greater wrist extension and pretty soon people end up leaning which also compromises their wrist posture, thereby increasing the risks of a musculoskeletal disorder like carpal tunnel syndrome. The impact of movement -- even leisurely movement -- can be profound. For starters, you'll burn more calories. This might lead to weight loss and increased energy. Even better, the muscle activity needed for standing and other movement seems to trigger important processes related to the breakdown of fats and sugars within the body. When you sit, these processes stall -- and your health risks increase. When you're standing or actively moving, you kick the processes back into action. Stay safe and healthy in your workplace. (Some information courtesy of muscleimbalancesyndromes.com, ehealthylifestyles.net, washingtonpost.com, mayoclinic.org and mercola.com.)