Sitting is Hazardous to Your Health

Sitting for prolonged periods of time is not healthy. Lifestyle determines how quickly your body ages.  Researchers have linked many health conditions to inactivity including increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, cardiovascular disease and even cancer.  In other words, premature death.

Did you know that daily exercise is not enough to compensate for the harm caused by long term sitting?  What can you do when you have to sit for hours a day at a desk? Is there a way to counteract the detrimental effects of prolonged inactivity?

A Study of Astronauts

In the 1970’s it was observed that astronauts were prematurely ageing while in space, similarly to people who are bedridden. In fact, an astronaut loses bone and muscle density more than 10 times faster in space than a person on earth.

According to Dr. Joan Verniko, former director of NASA’s Life Sciences Division, and author of “Sitting Kills, Moving Heals”, there is a simple solution to counteract the effects of sitting.

Dr. Verniko was one of the primary doctors responsible for monitoring the health of the astronauts and finding solutions to the health problems caused by zero gravity.  She found that the solution was to interrupt your sitting.

Interrupting Your Sitting Can Restore Health

It isn’t just continuous sitting that is hazardous to a person’s health.  Standing for long periods of time isn’t good either. It is a matter or shifting one’s position often.

According to Dr. Verniko, the best solution is to stand up around 35 times a day.  She tested 2 groups to see which was more effective, walking or standing, and for what duration to see an improvement.

The group that stood up once an hour throughout the day had better results than those  that used a treadmill for 15 minutes. Dr. Verniko found that even standing up and sitting down for 32 minutes did not get the same benefits as standing 32 times throughout the course of a day.

You Can Reverse Prior Damage from Sitting

According to Dr. Verniko, “It’s not how many hours of sitting that’s bad for you; it’s how often you interrupt that  sitting that is GOOD for you!”

You can even  reverse damage that has incurred from prolonged sitting.  So what are you doing? Stand up!

Dr. Mercola interviews Dr. Verniko:  link

To your Health!

Peter Gillham