Did you know that we spend more time sitting than sleeping? Yes, actually the amount of time more and more people spend time on the chair has disturbingly increased through the years that it has become bad for our health.
We probably all know by now that sitting for an extended period of time is bad for our health. However, we have to accept that nowadays that’s the position we would be mostly due to the kind of jobs people generally have and the lifestyle that we’ve all evolved to be living. This is sad, yes. But while we can all try to be clever with how we stay active to counteract the effects of sitting, know that the chair will have to be a constant companion.
We Sit An Average 12 Hours Everyday
It may not seem like it because we feel tired all the time but it’s true. Your desk job greatly contributes to the time you spend propped on a chair.
Frequent Interruptions In Sitting Helps
Standing up to stretch, get water, walk, or march on your place even for a few minutes in every hour of sitting lessen those back pains.
Our Body Is Designed For More Movement
We may be far behind medieval times where people walk miles to get food or water, but our bodies are definitely not made to be immobile for an extended period of time either.
Prolonged Sitting Leads To A Lot Of Chronic Diseases
People who sit all the time have high risks of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even cancer.
Even If You Do Exercise, That’s Not Gonna Counteract All The Sitting That You’ve Done
Even if you play sports, workout 3 times a week, and eat healthy, if you spend the rest of the time you’re not doing those three on a chair, that won’t make you less susceptible to the bad effects of sitting.
So the question is, is there no other way? Of course there is, you may be propped in the chair most of the time, but you can still keep your body moving. Yes, it’s called dynamic sitting! So basically, you inject small movements even as you go on your deskbound activity. Compared to static sitting, this keeps your body from being completely sedentary which could and would cause a lot of health issues more than you can imagine.
There may be chiropractors in Singapore that can help you correct your posture, relieve the pains accompanied with prolonged sitting, treat spinal injury or disorder you may have developed overtime and prevent them from coming back, still, you need to make an effort at your end. Here are some tips to practice active sitting.
Stretch Your Arms
Many arm exercises can be performed while seated at your desk. Try interlocking your fingers in both hands, and stretch your arms over your head as high as you can. This should help loosen the stiffness in your arms as well the shoulders from typing throughout the day. Feel the stretch for about 5 seconds and repeat for 8 times.
Roll Your Neck
Don’t you find yourself rubbing your nape during the day when you’re on the computer? That’s because of the tension building up as you maintain the same position for too long. To ease that a bit, you can make circular motion with your head. You probably already do this a couple of times a day without realizing it. But this time, try to really focus on the movement. Do it clockwise and then counterclockwise. Remember to keep the movement slow and fluid (not jerky and rigid), you don’t want to cause any more pain.
Shake Your Legs
When you sit all day, don’t be surprised if your legs become rigid or numb at some point. What you can do is straighten them in front of you and do scissors movement with them. Do ten sets of eight reps to strengthen your thigh muscles and your core.
Squeeze Your Butt
Okay, so you’re literally pressing the muscles, nerves, and ligaments in your butt and hips down as you stay seated. This is why after a couple of hours or so you start feeling some soreness around that area. Work it out by clenching or squeezing the muscles in your butt like how you would when you do squats.
Change Your Leg Position From Time To Time
Do you like to cross your legs when you sit? Keep them from being tender by switching legs or resting both the legs from side to side. But if you can avoid it, try not to cross your legs at all whenever you sit as this position makes your body accustomed to this lopsided position, and your pelvis may slowly rotate over time and become tilted.
Roll Your Feet
Just like how you roll your wrist when it starts getting tired, you can do that with your feet too. Lift on feet off the ground then use your ankles to move them in circular motion.
Circle Your Hips And Pelvis
Do this by acting like your using a hula-hoop, except there’s no hula-hoop and your sitting down. This keeps the hips and pelvis from aching too much.
Things That Can Help Break The Habit Off:
Avoid It As Much As Possible
Between standing and sitting, standing would be the lesser evil. So you’d be better off using a standing desk at work, talk in the while standing, fold the clean clothes on a higher table so you can stand instead.
Use Fitness Tracker
It helps, especially for those who get totally occupied with the task at hand. It will remind you how long and well you’ve slept, it will measure your activity level, and even motivate you to push yourself when you’re a little unmotivated to walk more or eat better.
Exercise Proper Posture Even When Sitting
For those times when sitting can’t be helped, you should at least do it right. Proper sitting posture lessens the pressure that your lower back would have to bear which causes those back pains.
Inject Walking In Your Routine
Walk more! It doesn’t just tone your legs, but it also improves your mood, balance and coordination as well as opens up your lungs more for better breathing.