Why You Should Stand Up to Poor Health

Health Risks of Sitting

Have you heard the phrase sitting is the new smoking thrown around yet? Here among the fitness industry it is well known and heard in near every healthy living conversation. It has become a catch phrase for defining an unhealthy lifestyle. And it is not far off as more and more Americans take on sedentary desk jobs each year. It is more important than ever to take this new catch phrase back to its origins to really understand what it means. By having an understanding of what is meant by “sitting is the new smoking” you can gain the knowledge needed on how to save yourself from these invisible black lungs.

Global studies have shown that, on average, people sit for 7.7 hours a day and up to 15 hours per day in some cases. The risks of a sedentary lifestyle (defined by a long period of inactivity, such as sitting) are gaining focus and becoming well documented. “For people who sit most of the day, their risk of heart attack is about the same as smoking,” states Martha Grogan, Cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic.

Increased risk of a heart attack is not the only problem associated with too much sitting. “Today, our bodies are breaking down from obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, depression and the cascade of health ills and everyday malaise that come from what scientists have named sitting disease,” states James Levine, MD, PhD. A recent study of older women linked sitting for long periods of time to an increased chance of “untimely death”. Sitting [for too long] is killing us.

You’ve heard it many times- even if you are an active individual who works out everyday, sitting for 7 hours plus will negate many benefits gained from that workout. You probably ignored this, as I did for some time, for not wanting to hear it or not believing it. However, the studies are out and the facts are in, it is true, and it is time to do something about it.

The many regulations placed on cigarette sales alongside awareness campaigns have significantly reduced the number of individuals affected by tobacco each year. So what is the next step for the sitting disease? As it is in the infancy of awareness, we believe that is just the place to start. Awareness. We’ve shared just a few of the health risks of too much sitting, now let’s see what benefits come from incorporating standing back into your day, and, ideas on how to do it!

 

Health Benefits of Standing

Stabilize your back and lower body

Standing will help to strengthen and stabilize your legs and lower back. Sitting for long periods of time requires absolutely no effort from your glutes (or any other muscles for that matter). It also puts your hips at an unnatural position. Over long periods of time of keeping your legs in the 90 degree angle for 8+ hours a day will begin to shorten the hip muscles. This can lead to tight hamstrings and cause your hips to get out of alignment, resulting in pain in your back, or even down into your knees.

Standing provides proper positioning of the hips. It requires your glutes to remain tense, helping them remember how to work. By keeping your legs engaged, your spine is forced to actively stabilize itself, versus slouching back into your chair. All of these little things work together to strengthen your core, spine, and legs. Standing will make you more aware of when your posture begins to slack off. Correcting this bad posture will give you a more upright stance and confident appearance. This will help to put less strain on your back by allowing your body to achieve a more ergonomic state, I.e. it will position the muscles in your body the way they are meant to be.

Reduced Risk of Obesity

Simply put, you need to spend more calories than you consume to not gain weight. If you are are spending less calories, from not moving all day, than you are consuming, from eating during the day, you will gain weight. Therefore, it is important to keep in mind that standing is automatically more active than sitting. For a 150 pound individual, on average, standing for two hours (the minimum recommended stand time per work day) will use around 300 calories. <–Use this link to calculate your stand-time calories burned! Sitting for those two hours will burn only about 230 calories.

By standing, you are able to accomplish the same tasks while burning more calories. An extra 70 calories per day doesn’t sound like much, but that’s an extra 350 burned per week, and 1400 burned per month. Keeping in mind the 3500 calorie threshold to lose one pound, standing for 2 hours per day at work could help you lose almost one pound every 2 months. Done throughout an entire year, that could add up to almost six extra pounds lost. And that’s not from working out or changing  your diet. That’s from standing alone instead of sitting.

Studies have also shown that increasing the amount of time standing throughout the day gave people more energy. Not only will you feel better, but imagine how much easier the work day goes when you’re alert and ready for the day. More energy is in-turn less of a reason to look for a pick me up like a soda or sugary snack. Let’s say your go-to afternoon pick me up is a 20 ounce bottle of coke from the vending machine. Your sugary friend is packed with 240 calories and 65 grams of sugar. So let’s say that by standing for two hours, the energy boost you get eliminates the need for that coke. Combine the calorie boost from standing with the reduction in calories from not drinking a coke, and you are coming ahead by 310 calories. Now you are looking at a total calorie deficit of 1,550 per week, and could lose closer to 2 pounds PER MONTH, thanks to standing and a slight diet adjustment.

Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)

A large medical study conducted over 21 years showed that men who spent more than 23 hours of sedentary activity (riding in a car and watching TV for this study) were at a 64% greater risk of dying from CVD than those who reported less than 11 hours of sedentary activity per week. To break that down, that’s only average 3.2 hours a day of sedentary behavior that lead to an increased risk of CVD. The study concluded that both reducing sedentary activity and increasing regular physical activity are keys to achieving optimal cardiovascular health.

Spending more time standing will not completely eliminate your risk of cardiovascular disease. But it will help you to be more active. It will help you take a better look at your posture. You will have more energy, which will make you more inclined to take more steps throughout your day and avoid sugary snacks throughout the day. All of this together can lead to weight loss. Something as simple as standing for two extra hours a day can help you strengthen your spine, lose weight, and reduce your risk of CV disease. Just imagine what even a few more hours will do!

 

How to Change your Habits Now

Sit less (Convert your work space into a standing desk)

You can double or even triple the steps you take on a typical day by simply choosing to stand during the hours you typically sit at a desk. How is this? You’re already standing! So walking over to get a drink, or walking while you’re on the phone, or even walking over to ask a co-working a question, all of a sudden seems much easier. Now what happens during these day-to-day tasks that you used to put off or use lazier (ever email the co-worker next to you a question) methods for? You activate your gluteus muscles instead of sitting on them!

Getting you up on your feet for more of the day will make many other daily life activities easier. Walking up stairs suddenly isn’t as much of an effort; chasing your children on the playground- easier; and, even something like standing in line for rides or activities will be less trying. Standing more hours during your day will noticeably improve the way you feel each and every day.

Walk More

Take phone calls on your cell phone or invest a little money in a headset so that you can walk around the office, parking lot, or anywhere else instead of staying sedentary. Instead of booking meeting time in a conference room, book it for a walk and talk- either around the office or try a park. You can make important decisions and  everyone will have taken a few more steps to a healthier day (talk about a happy insurance company). Even getting up for a quick two minute walk every 30 minutes will be beneficial to both your physical health as well as your levels of concentration.

WalkTop Desk

If you want to combine new habits 1 and 2, the WalkTop desk is the choice for you. Instead of just standing while doing work, take it a step further and get your walk on. Walking at a slow, steady pace (2-3 miles per hour) for several hours a day will help you add thousands of steps to your daily routine, while taking away zero time from your work day. Some of this post was actually written while using a WalkTop Desk! 

To wrap up, are health experts saying to never sit down now? No. Just like anything else, the key is moderation. Standing all day long, just like sitting all day long, is also not good for your joints, aches, pains, or overall health. It is important to incorporate both into your day. Have a standing, or treadmill desk, but also have a stool for when your body is feeling fatigued and telling you to sit. But also stand and walk as often as your body allows. If you can stand through most of the day, through meetings and phone calls, allow yourself to sit and relax to write an email or in the evening with family and friends. And sit during meals! That is important for another blog of reasons. So stand, workout, eat right, all in moderation- your body will thank you! And you will notice it.