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Most of us don’t even consider the effects of sitting because a sedentary lifestyle has become such a normal way of living. Technological advances have led to a plethora of “brain” work that doesn’t require the physical exertion of our bodies, allowing us to sit for hours on end in a place we were never really designed to be…and not at all without its cost.

Is Sitting Bad For Us?

Human physiology could care less about the convenience and other supposed benefits that come with our modern age of physical stagnancy. We are just not made to sit still for prolonged periods; certainly not 6-8+ hours a day. Stack artificial lighting, circulated air and a bunch of miserable coworkers on top of that, and it’s really no wonder why we’re all sick and full of pain.

To say sitting is bad for us wouldn’t even scratch the surface, because the true picture of its consequences are so veiled in its integration with regular, day-to-day life. To start thinking differently about this, consider the following… 

• If we were to tell you that each 2 hour/day increment in sitting was associated with a 5% increase in obesity and a 7% increase in diabetes - would you spend less time watching TV?
• Over half of office workers experience neck, lower back and/or shoulder pain - are you one of them?
• Insufficient physical activity is a significant contributor to premature death - is this a sufficient motivator to make you move more?

These are not trivial outcomes or problems, and the list is by no means exhaustive. It is instead just a small snapshot of what is truly a widespread global health issue that needs addressing. 

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Effects of Sitting Too Much

While sitting down is often considered as a rest from physical exertion, there is one muscle that might beg to differ; the heart. Skeletal muscles play an important role in circulating blood throughout the body. Inactive muscles are not able to assist the heart with its circulatory functions while sitting, forcing it to work harder and at a higher rate of speed.

This is one of the reasons why hypertension is commonly found in office workers. Don’t get confused, while making the heart work hard through exercise is beneficial to health, the excess strain we’re talking about here is in no way equivalent. The body is made to work as a holistic unit, and the heart should not have to compensate for the inactivity of large skeletal muscles.

Lack of circulation in general is part of the exhaustion that so many people feel when their life is largely sedentary. Think of two bodies of water: One is a running creek; energetic, clear and flowing. The other is a still pond; murky, parasitic and largely devoid of life. The juxtaposition would be your blood and how you feel throughout a given day. Many of us are the latter.

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Other effects of sitting include the following:

• Muscle tightness
• Muscle weakness
• Distorted muscle function
• Impaired breathing
• Increased levels of stress
• Poor posture
• Brain fog
• Digestive issues & constipation

The list goes on. 

How to Reverse the Effects of Sitting

We can quantify and account for two major components of overall health in the following equation:

Overall Health = f (Physical Activity, Inactivity)

It implies that overall health is a function (f) of both physical activity and inactivity combined, among other things (simplified for example). 

To combat inactivity, we must participate in the appropriate and proportional amount of physical activity. Enough to keep us strong, healthy and capable. Not just everyday survival and homeostasis, but pain-free living that allows one to stretch outside their normal routine for the sake of recreation, exploration and adventure. 

Life is not meant to be lived from a couch or a chair.

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Strategies to Combat Excessive Sitting

While the consequences of sedentary work and living are serious and far-reaching, we can make significant headway in the other direction through some simple, low-time-investment interventions. Let’s look at some of them now.

Daily Mobility & Strength Training

A professionally designed mobility and strength training program is key not just for unwinding the dysfunction created by too much sitting, but also for overall health in general. Doing 100 sit ups and then stretching anything and everything is not a plan - we need targeted mobility and strength exercises that get us closer to our goal and further away from pain and injury.

At Your Desk Routines

You might be wondering when you’re going to fit something like that into your busy day - not to worry. Real progress can be made with short, 5-minute interventions in the form of “movement breaks” performed right at your desk. No warm up, no equipment, just a bit of guidance on what, when, and how to do it best.

ReverseSit - Mobility for Desk Workers

We have combined both of the above options into one easy-to-use, professional, fully-interactive platform available to you 24/7 on your phone, tablet and desktop. ReverseSit helps you correct the painful muscle imbalances that arise as a result of excessive sitting and office work, all in short routines that never last more than 15 minutes. 

If you’re ready to join the thousands of people worldwide already getting stronger, healthier and more mobile with ReverseSit, click here for a 7-day free trial. You’ll gain access to our comprehensive library of original content, designed to help people just like you!

Written by Eric Lister - Certified Personal Trainer & Corrective Exercise Specialist