Physical activity is an essential part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
However, approximately 31% of the global population fails to meet minimum physical activity requirements.
Staying physically active and taking frequent breaks from sitting reduces these risks.
eclipse_images / Getty Images
eclipse_images / Getty Images
How Many Hours of Sitting Is Unhealthy?
This is especially true if your sitting is uninterrupted, meaning you do not take any breaks.
What Happens to the Body After Sitting Down for Too Long?
Sitting down for too long can have several negative side effects on your body.
Weak Legs and Glutes
Increased sitting makes your leg muscles inactive.
Over time, this causes muscles to become weak and fatigue quickly with physical activity.
Tight Hips and Back Pain
Lack of movement will cause your muscles to become tight.
This is especially true for thehip flexorswhen you sit in a chair with your legs bent at 90 degrees.
Tight hips can limit your mobility and increase strain on your lower back.
Sitting too long also increases the pressure between the discs in the lumbar spine of the lower back.
Staying in the same position for too long, especially withpoor posture, can strain the upper body.
Over time, this can contribute torestrictive airway disease.
Slower Metabolism
Lack of movement and physical activity causes yourmetabolismto slow down.
This makes your body less efficient at breaking down food for energy and more likely to store fat.
Too much time sitting is one of the biggest risk factors forobesity.
Mental Impact
Physical inactivity slows down your entire body.
Musculoskeletal Disorders
Sitting too long can increase the risk of many musculoskeletal disorders.
This can increase the risk of developing conditions likeheart diseaseandheart attacksas blood flow to the heart is restricted.
This leads tohypertension, or high blood pressure.
Diabetes Risk
Increased time sitting is linked to negative changes to metabolism, primarily increased blood sugar.
Because muscles are inactive, they do not transport blood sugar out of the blood to use as energy.
Excess blood sugar stays in the bloodstream and causes blood sugar levels to remain elevated.
Over time, this leads todiabetesand many other complications of this disease.
Activity breaks do not have to be long or intense to combat the side effects of sitting too long.
This can help keep your blood sugar under better control, especially if you have diabetes.
Wearing elastic compression stockings can also help prevent some side effects of prolonged sitting.
Easy Stretches to Counteract Sitting All Day
Sitting all day can tighten your muscles.
To reduce strain, try these stretches for different parts of your body.
It is important to maintain a good seated posture to decrease strain on your muscles and joints when sitting.
Seek immediate medical attention if you experience intense pain, cramping, swelling, or warmth in your calf.
These are potential signs of a deep vein thrombosis or blood clot.
Blood clots can travel to other parts of the body and can have very harmful or even fatal consequences.
