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SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE: NO PAIN, NO GAIN
A sedentary lifestyle is a mode of living in which a person, an adult or anyone who does not engage in sufficient physical activity or exercise for what is generally considered healthy living. The term is often used within the medical community by doctors and professionals to describe a lifestyle among many people in highly developed countries that does not afford or take a step to grab opportunities for physical activity.
A daily rush to office, slog in front of the computer the whole day for 5 days in a week and then drink and party till you drop during the weekends. This is the lifestyle of the majority of people in the world today. Sluggish, lazy, stagnant and laid back is how the life of the youth has become today.
Living a sedentary lifestyle is not necessarily synonymous with laziness, since a person can be very busy with work and family but without inherent opportunities to exercise. Someone who works at a computer in an office, typically driving or riding in a motor vehicle to and from work, and coming home afterward to watch television or sit in front of a computer once more is likely to stay busy but still not find ways to remain physically active. This means it can be critically important for people who work in these types of careers to find other opportunities for exercise or physical activity.
However, the same kind of job profile that requires sitting at one place takes away one of the most important elements from life, ‘health’. With the kind of sedentary lifestyle that most of us follow now-a-days, there is hardly any room for physical exercise or labor. Our body needs some amount of physical challenge in order to work efficiently and stay healthy, which the sedentary lifestyle of today is not able to provide.
Here are some of the effects of sedentary lifestyle that can prove to be dangerous and harmful for our body.
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Excess Eating
The direct effect of an inactive lifestyle is an overweight body. If you are leading a sedentary life, you are absorbing and indirectly storing a lot of calories, because there is no physical activity or exercise to burn the calories down. It is these calories that get stored in the body as excess fat leading to obesity.
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Risk of Heart Malfunction
For the heart to function properly there should be a continuous flow of blood from the blood vessels. However, an inactive life style can lead to a slowdown in the blood supply to the heart, making the blood vessels firm and clog. A serious case of blockage of blood vessels can also lead to arteriosclerosis and even a cardiac arrest.
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Muscles Loosen
Muscles require regular activities and exercise to be in good shape and give you enough strength for your day-to-day activities. If you are leading a sedentary life, the muscles are hardly used. This lack of movement and exercise will reduce the muscle capability and strength in your body. Sitting all day long without any exercise affects your body posture and give your back and spine stiffness that loose energy and muscularity. This specific behavior can shorten and tighten your hip flexors and hamstrings, making the muscle that supports the spine weak and stiff.
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Cancer Risk
A sedentary lifestyle also increases the risk of cancer in a person. Decrease in physical activity can also lead to different cancers like breast cancer, colon cancer and tumors as well. An inactive body can give birth to dangerous cancerous cells, increasing the risk of deaths due to cancer.
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Increased Risk of Diabetes
The level of blood sugar level can also be kept under control by regular physical activity. If the body gets regular and intensive exercise, the level of blood sugar is neutralized. While if there is no physical exercise provided to the body, the risk of an increase in blood sugar levels is inevitable. Increase in blood sugar levels will put pressure on the pancreas which will affect the secretion of the hormone insulin, increasing the chance of a diabetes attack.
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Osteoporosis and Arthritis
Continuous in-activeness can cause the bones to lose their strength because there is no challenge for them to support the body. A prolonged period of slothfulness can cause problems like arthritis and osteoporosis thus leading the bones to become brittle and weak.
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Sleeping Problems
A sedentary lifestyle can also lead to sleeping problems, it does not provide any challenge for the body. Therefore, the body feels no need for rest leading to sleeping difficulties which can turn into insomnia later on.
Faster Aging Process
Telomere, the repeat sequence of ‘deoxyribonucleic acid’ (DNA) is the one that sits on the ends of chromosomes, protecting them from any damage. These telomeres get shorter as we age. Research has proven the fact that in inactive people the telomeres shorten faster than in an active person. The faster the rates of shortening, the faster will the signs of old age appear.
Lack of exercise can also have a negative impact on a person’s immune system, which can create the possibility for even more negative health consequences.
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Health Food Diet
This is a must and very important. A healthy diet and exercise is a great combination to boost immunity and prevention of any diseases.
Finding ways to get exercise is an essential part of breaking free from a sedentary lifestyle. This can include walking, running, or performing other exercises during breaks and lunchtime as well as finding opportunities for exercise throughout the day. Practices like using the stairs instead of an elevator, parking farther from work to have to walk a bit more each day, and exercising legs and arms even while sitting at a desk are all excellent ways for someone to increase his or her physical activity. If one cannot find guarantee time to do therapeutic exercise like Tai Chi or Qigong, the best and easy way is walking.
Reference:
Ronthoughts Journal – Workout and Exercise
Therapeutic Chinese Exercise for Health and Longevity
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-sedentary-lifestyle.htm
http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/sedentary-lifestyle-effects-10972.html
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Thank you for the kind comment Beth. Thanks Tom, much appreciated.
Being Sedentary is also soooo boring. I am not super active, but could never be a couch potato.
Sure Brenda, cause I love your career and living in a farm is a whole lot of activities, thank you.
Thanks for the article, Ron. It is a wake up call. I have noticed the last two or three weeks that my exercise activities have been lessening and shortening, due mostly to the rain here in Cebu City. Exercise do make muscles and bones stronger. Most importantly, it maximizes blood circulation, because all of our body parts need oxygen. Me, I am type 2 diabetic, and need exercise all the more. Thank you for this article, Kabayan. Jonel.
Very helpful. I, too, have not noticed that I have decreased my physical activities just to work and surf on line for many hours. Thanks for the reminders!
Dear Jonel, i' am glad you're doing a regular exercise cause its very good for your type 2 diabetic and include a healthy diet. i also hope that the irregular weather in the country be lessened, thank you for your kind comment.
This applies to me especially Ron. Anywhere from 12-14 hours a day at my PC writing articles and maintaining a blog and website both. No good. Thank you for reminding me to get up frequently and MOVE if nothing else. Thank you.
A very thorough article, Ron. I would suggest one editorial change, though. You write, "A daily rush to office, slog in front of the computer the whole day for 5 days in a week and then drink and party till you drop during the weekends. This is the lifestyle of the majority of people in the world today." The word "world" there is simply wrong lots of people in the world get plenty of exercise simply from being subsistence farmers or otherwise lacking in the technology and amenities that make so many Americans so physically inactive. As for me, I spend too much time at the computer. I do not spend down time with either the TV or beer, but reading magazines or working puzzles and snacking is no better. I go to the gym three times a week and try to watch my food intake, but it requires deliberate and mindful concentration to keep it up. That, I think, is right in line with your main point.
excellent article
Thanks Carol. Thank you so much for the kind thoughts David, its noted.
Thank you Aileen and Beverly.
I just got a powerful incentive to get the *(F()${"? out of this chair. Voted and appreciated.
Ron, buzzed and voted! This is an important issue for many Americans. Get off the couch guys & girls!! :-)
Thank you IIeen and Judy, much appreciated.
I agree with others. Ron this is much needed info.
Thanks for the comment, much appreciated.
Great article! And so timely with all the research and information surfacing about the dangerous effects of sitting too long. We have a ways to go before Corporate America understands this. So much of the information points to "Too much TV time" but I'm sure for most of us, like me, "TV Time" equates to "Computer" or "Chair" time.
A great website, www.juststand.org, urges people to create an "Uprising" in an effort to get everyone out of their sedentary routines. Even the simple act of standing can have tremendous health benefits.
juststand.org offers a wealth of information, including research and tools that educate people on the dangers of "sitting disease" and ways to avoid the health risks.
Hope you get a chance to visit... and while you do, "just stand" as you peruse! =)
Thank you so much WFWendy, much appreciated.
The site is bookmarked, very useful site, thanks again Wendy.
Great article, very thorough!
Thanks Christy.
Thanks, Ron. Writing is as sedentary as it gets. Your article illustrates the importance of setting aside time to be active. It sounds like that's ultimately what will keep us writing over the long term.
A timely challenging article. Most needed health care. Thank you Ron.
Thanks Gayle and Paulose for your friendly support.
So true! I eat healthy foods but I certainly could use more physical activity. Great article.