随着“零工”经济(” economy)的增长和越来越多的人在家工作，当今发达国家面临的新健康威胁是久坐不动的生活方式。(health threat)
对于大多数使用计算机的人来说，久坐是不可避免的。不幸的是，长时间坐着会带来一些非常严重的健康后果。事实上，这些健康后果非常糟糕，以至于大多数卫生当局都将久坐称为“新吸烟”。
众所周知，使用电脑会导致健康问题(computer use that can lead to health issues)。但是坐得太多也会导致健康(cause health)问题吗？答案是肯定的，在本文中，您将了解 7 个原因。
导致肥胖(Leads To Obesity)
2012 年，一个研究小组对(a research group questioned a sample)西班牙(Spain)3,000 多名老年人的样本进行了调查，询问他们的生活方式有多久坐。该小组检查了每天坐着的小时数与他们每天步行的小时数之间的相关性。
研究小组(research group)的发现令人震惊。他们不仅发现坐着的时间会增加女性和男性的肥胖，而且他们发现肥胖与步行时间无关。然而，其他研究表明，每天超过 60 分钟的适度体力活动实际上会抵消坐 8 小时对健康的影响。
多年来，许多其他研究项目也发现了类似的结果。值得注意的是，久坐对肥胖的影响是如此严重，以至于它实际上可以抵消身体活动，甚至抵消掉它。
其原因是相当常识的。当您坐得太久时，以下所有影响都会增加您患肥胖症的风险：
- 比站立或移动所需的能量更少，因此随着时间的推移，您燃烧的卡路里比其他情况下要少。
- 鼓励导致肥胖的行为，如吃零食或饮酒(snacking or drinking alcohol)。
- 长时间不使用大部分肌肉会导致肌肉量(muscle mass)减少，从而导致新陈代谢降低。
希望(Hope)没有失去。即使您每天必须坐 8 小时，也可以采取一些措施来对抗肥胖。
如果您必须在白天长时间坐着，为了避免体重增加：
- 确保(Make sure)每坐 4 小时，每天至少进行 30 分钟的锻炼。
- 一天中的一部分时间选择站立式办公桌(standing desk)燃烧的卡路里几乎是坐着的两倍。随着时间的推移，这些卡路里会显着增加。
- 如果您想吃零食，请尝试喝水(drinking water)、茶或低热量的汤来避免饥饿并避免摄入额外的卡路里。
可导致脊柱过早退化(Can Cause Premature Degeneration Of The Spine)
在检查所有因久坐而引起的健康问题时，对脊柱的影响最为显着。
长时间坐着会通过以下方式影响您的背部和脊椎：(back and spine)
- 导致臀部屈肌(hip flexor)紧张，随着时间的推移会降低您的灵活性。
- 减慢(Slows circulation)臀部肌肉的循环，这可能导致腰痛。
- 向屏幕倾斜会导致颈部肌肉酸痛，并拉伤那里的脊柱椎间盘。
为了减少坐得太久对脊椎造成的压力：
- 锻炼不(t get)经常锻炼的肌肉；特别是腹部、臀部和肩胛骨之间的肌肉（步行和划船非常适合）。
- 拉伸可能变得紧绷和酸痛的肌肉；例如胸肌、颈部和臀部。预防杂志(Prevention Magazine)为此提供了极好的延伸(excellent stretches for this)。
- 替代(Alternate)站立式办公桌和其他符合人体工程学的办公设备(ergonomic office equipment)。这可以消除整个脊柱椎间盘上的(spine and tightness)压力和压力(stress and pressure)以及臀部的紧绷感。
- 至少每小时移动一次几分钟以改善血液循环。
增加患癌症的机会(Increases The Chances Of Cancer)
美国癌症协会(study from the American Cancer Society)2018 年的一项研究发现，坐得太久与大多数主要病因导致的死亡风险之间存在联系。其中之一是癌症。
久坐会增加以下几种癌症的几率。
众所周知，久坐以及任何形式的久坐生活都会导致免疫力下降和炎症(immunity and inflammation)。大多数专家都同意，免疫力受损会增加患癌症的机会。
任何可以提高免疫力的措施都可以抵消久坐的风险。以下是执行此操作的绝佳方法。
- 充足的睡眠可以增强身体的免疫反应。
- 暴露在阳光下为支持免疫的 T 细胞提供能量。
- 定期按摩疗法(massage therapy)可改善内分泌和细胞免疫健康(immunity health)。
- 研究表明(Studies show)，即使只是 30分钟的步行(minute walk)也会导致积极的免疫力变化。
- 最能增强免疫力的保健(Health)品包括维生素 C、D 和 B、大蒜、姜黄素和紫锥花。
除了所有这些之外，营养丰富的健康饮食对您的免疫力具有与服用补充剂相同的积极影响。
强大的免疫力不仅可以降低您患癌症的风险，还可以保护您免受病毒和普通感冒的侵害。
糖尿病的高可能性(High Likelihood For Diabetes)
2012 年发表的一项由近 800,000 名参与者组成的重要研究发现，每天久坐会使人患 2 型糖尿病的风险增加一倍(Type 2)。
处理糖尿病会严重影响您的生活质量，这是从久坐到久坐最严重和最可能的危险之一。在您了解久坐对新陈代谢的原因和影响(cause and effect)之前，似乎很难理解为什么久坐会导致糖尿病。
每天久坐几个小时最终会降低你身体的新陈代谢。较低的新陈代谢会导致您的身体产生较高的胰岛素抵抗(insulin resistance)。较高的胰岛素抵抗(insulin resistance)最终会导致 2 型糖尿病。
好消息是，如果你每天都在努力，抵消对新陈代谢的影响并不难。(metabolism isn)
改善新陈代谢：
- 确保(Make sure)你在坐着的时候移动了一段时间。这意味着经常站立，每天走路。
- (Include)每天在饮食中加入足够的蛋白质。
- 喝很多的水。
- 每周至少适度锻炼 3 或 4 次，包括举重(weight lifting)。
- 足够的睡眠。
- 偶尔吃辛辣食物。
即使你被迫每天工作 8 小时，也不能保证你会患上糖尿病。这只是意味着你必须非常努力地确保你每天都在照顾你的新陈代谢。
增加患心脏病的几率(Increase Odds Of Heart Disease)
就好像坐太久会导致许多其他身体问题是不够的，它还会增加患心脏病(heart disease)的几率。但为什么？
当你久坐时，它会减少你的血液流动(blood flow)。以下是久坐与心脏病(heart disease)之间的直接因果关系。
- 减少血液流动(blood flow)，让血液中的脂肪酸在血管中积聚
- 您的身体产生分解脂肪所需的脂蛋白脂肪酶的能力降低了约 90%，使脂肪在血液中循环(lipase enzyme)
应对这些风险的方法与上述其他风险的方法完全相同。显着增加您的日常活动和锻炼(movement and exercise)。此外，尝试在整个工作日中频繁移动，而不仅仅是在锻炼期间。
比以往任何时候都多的人发现自己在别无选择只能长时间坐着的工作中。但是，如果您在不工作时有创意地做您需要做的事情以保持健康，那么久坐不一定是死刑。(death sentence)
您如何将运动和其他健康习惯融入您的生活方式？在下面的评论部分分享(Share)您的想法。
5 Serious Health Issues From Sitting Too Long & How To Avoid Them
With the growth of the “gig” economу and so many people working from hоme, the new health threat facing developed countries today is a sedentаry lifestyle.
Sitting for too long is inevitable for most people who work with computers. Unfortunately sitting for long periods of time comes with some very serious health consequences. In fact, those health consequences are so bad that most health authorities are calling sitting “the new smoking”.
It’s no secret that there’s a lot about computer use that can lead to health issues. But can sitting too much cause health problems too? The answer is yes, and in this article you’ll learn 7 reasons why.
Leads To Obesity
In 2012, a research group questioned a sample of just over 3,000 elderly people in Spain about how sedentary their lifestyle was. The group examined correlations between the number of hours a day sitting, as well as how many hours a day they walked.
The research group’s findings were astonishing. Not only did they find that sitting time increases obesity in both women and men, but they found that obesity was independent of walking time. However other studies showed that moderate physical activity longer than 60 minutes a day does, in fact, counter the health effects of sitting for 8 hours.
Many other research projects have found similar results through the years. What is so remarkable is that the impact of sitting on obesity is so severe that it can actually counteract physical activity to the point of cancelling it out.
The reasons for this are fairly common sense. When you’re sitting too long, all of the following effects contribute to your risk of obesity:
- Requires less energy than standing or moving, so you’re burning fewer calories over time than you would be otherwise.
- Encourages behavior that contributes to obesity like snacking or drinking alcohol.
- Not using most of your muscles for an extended period can lead to reduced muscle mass, which leads to reduced metabolism.
Hope is not lost. There are things you can do to fight off obesity even if you have to sit for 8 hours a day.
To stave off gaining weight if you have to sit for extended periods during the day:
- Make sure you get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day for every 4 hours you need to sit.
- Opting for a standing desk for a portion of the day can burn almost twice as many calories as sitting. Those calories can add up significantly over time.
- If you feel like snacking, try drinking water, tea, or low-calorie soup to stave off hunger and avoid consuming extra calories.
Can Cause Premature Degeneration Of The Spine
When examining all of the health issues from sitting too long, the effects on the spine are the most significant.
Sitting for long periods of time affects your back and spine in the following ways:
- Leads to tight hip flexor muscles which can reduce your flexibility over time.
- Slows circulation to your buttock muscles, which can contribute to lower back pain.
- Leaning toward a screen can lead to sore neck muscles and strain on the discs in the spine there.
To reduce strain on your spine from sitting too long:
- Exercise the muscles that don’t get used regularly; specifically abdominals, glutes, and the muscles between your shoulder blades (walking and rowing are excellent for this).
- Stretch the muscles that can get tight and sore; such as pectorals, neck, and your hip. Prevention Magazine offers excellent stretches for this.
- Alternate to a standing desk and other ergonomic office equipment. This can remove stress and pressure on the discs throughout your spine and tightness in your hips.
- Move around at least once an hour for a few minutes to improve circulation.
Increases The Chances Of Cancer
A study from the American Cancer Society in 2018 found a link between sitting too long and risk of death from most major leading causes. One of those was cancer.
The odds of the following types of cancer are all increased from prolonged sitting.
- Colorectal.
- Ovarian.
- Endometrial.
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Sitting, and actually any form of sedentary life, is known to cause impaired immunity and inflammation. Most experts agree that impaired immunity can increase one’s chances of getting cancer.
Anything you can do to boost your immunity can counteract the risk of sitting too long. The following are excellent ways to do this.
- Getting plenty of sleep boosts the body’s immune response.
- Exposure to sunlight provides energy to T cells that support immunity.
- Regular massage therapy improves endocrine and cellular immunity health.
- Studies show even just a 30 minute walk causes positive immunity changes.
- Health supplements that boost immunity the most include vitamins C, D, and B, garlic, curcumin, and echinacea.
In addition to all of these things, a healthy diet high in nutrients has the same positive effects on your immunity as taking supplements.
Not only will a strong immunity reduce your risk of cancer, but it’ll keep you protected from viruses and the common cold.
High Likelihood For Diabetes
One significant study published in 2012 consisting of almost 800,000 participants found that prolonged sitting every day doubles a person’s risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
Dealing with diabetes can severely impact your quality of life, and it’s one of the most serious and likely dangers from sitting to long. It may seem difficult to understand why sitting can cause diabetes until you look at the cause and effect of sitting on your metabolism.
Sitting for many hours a day will eventually reduce your body’s metabolism. A lower metabolism results in your body developing higher insulin resistance. Higher insulin resistance eventually leads to Type 2 diabetes.
The good news is that counteracting the effect on your metabolism isn’t difficult, if you work on it every day.
To improve your metabolism:
- Make sure you’re moving some time during the period of sitting. This means standing every so often, and walking every day.
- Include enough protein in your diet every day.
- Drink plenty of water.
- Workout at least moderately 3 or 4 times a week, including weight lifting.
- Get enough sleep.
- Occasionally eat spicy foods.
Even if you’re forced to sit 8 hours a day for your job, that doesn’t have to guarantee that you’re going to get diabetes. It just means that you have to be very diligent about making sure you are taking care of your metabolism every day.
Increase Odds Of Heart Disease
As though it isn’t enough that sitting too long can lead to so many other physical problems, it can also increase your odds of heart disease. But why?
When you sit for a long period of time, it reduces your blood flow. The following are direct cause-effect relationships between sitting and heart disease.
- Reduces blood flow and allows fatty acids in your blood to build up in blood vessels
- Your body’s ability to produce the lipoprotein lipase enzyme that your body needs to break down fat is reduced by about 90 percent, leaving that fat to circulate in your blood
The methods to counteract these risks is exactly the same as that for other risks above. Increase your daily movement and exercise significantly. Also, try to move frequently throughout the workday, not only during your workouts.
More people than ever before find themselves in jobs where they have no choice but to sit for long periods of time. However, sitting too long doesn’t have to be a death sentence if you’re creative about doing the things you need to do to stay healthy when you aren’t working.
What do you do to fit exercise and other healthy habits into your lifestyle? Share your ideas in the comments section below.
