How to combat the ill effects of your sedentary life and gain better mobility and strength in your golden years.
By May Laughton
It’s easy to imagine a life in the “slow lane” as one filled with cool beverages while relaxing poolside.
A place where commuting is a thing of the past.
A place where the term “the hustle and bustle” is reserved for dressing up for a dinner party.
For workers everywhere, the tempo of slow lane life is one of mystery—like a nirvana you reach in your golden years. While we strive to achieve this peak, we fail to realize that our sedentary jobs and lifestyles can significantly impact our health and mobility in time.
The ill effects of a sedentary life have been well documented. Still, there is evidence to show us we can improve our chances of better functioning by incorporating changes into our routine.
Let’s look at how much movement is needed and how much downtime is considered sedentary.
What Does Sedentary Mean?
To be sedentary means you’re physically inactive for much of the day.
With the rise of technology and automation, it’s easy to see how today’s humans exist in a primarily sedentary routine.
Whether you’re working a desk job and sitting for hours a day or have problems with mobility, you’re living a sedentary life.
The Facts:
- The average person is sedentary for 12 hours per day.
- More jobs are performed while sitting, leaving only 1 in 10 people who stand all day.
- One in 4 Americans spends 8 or more hours per day sitting.
- Physical inactivity is the fourth leading cause of global mortality.
- Middle-aged women who increased physical activity improved depressive symptoms.
- Workers who have organized support from employers to be active showed an increase in activity throughout the day.
Jobs Requiring Hours of Sitting or Lying Down
These persons are sitting or lying down most of the time while performing their jobs:
- Writer
- Manicurist
- Clerical and data entry
- Software developers
- Automated machine operators
- Graphic designers
- Legal professions- attorney, judge, court reporters
- Accountants
- Government workers
- Truck Drivers
- An auto mechanic who works underneath cars, lying on a dolly
There are exertions like reaching and hand manipulations while performing these jobs. However, these workers are not lifting, standing, or walking for much of the day. That is unless they consciously get movement on weekends or after punching out for the day.
Health Risks and The Sedentary Life
For some reason, once we leave our sedentary job, we go home and do more sitting. And if you suffer from mobility issues, your day involves hours of sitting and lying down.
The Bad-
There are obvious health risks associated with a sedentary life, but there are things you can do, depending on your comfort level, to improve your overall health.
One of the health risks has been termed “sitting disease,” a scientific term coined for metabolic syndrome.
Several chronic diseases or co-morbidities are wrapped into the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome. Such as:
- Diabetes
- Cardiovascular disease
- Hypertension/high blood pressure
- Obesity
- Cholesterol abnormalities
There are also problems arising from joint pain in the hips from sitting too long and back pain from poor lumbar support.
Those working with their hands all day may find a greater risk of carpal tunnel syndrome, hand or wrist pain, and neck pain.
The Good-
Studies show a wide range of cardiometabolic benefits when changes are made to increase activity and you make these changes long-term.
Additionally, changing your environment or workspace to be more user-friendly will alleviate strain and improve mobility and function in your back, hands, wrists, eyes, and neck.
Setting Up Your Workspace
Setting up your workstation is key to getting and staying in the right workflow and preventing injury to your neck, arms, wrists, or hands.
The biggest problem isn’t necessarily sitting down. Still, it’s holding a single position that promotes strain for an extended period, like learning forward, says Jen Horonjeff, Ph.D., an ergonomics and human factors consultant in New York City.
If the office your spend hours in daily is not set up for ease. In fact, you will eventually suffer from severe pain from nerve damage in your upper extremities, neck, and back, and even strain your vision.
Action steps:
- Choose an office chair with good lumbar support, adjustable for height, and good arm support. Your back, arms, and legs will thank you.
- Raise your screen to eye level. If you have a laptop, buy a riser and a separate keyboard to make the adjustment. Your neck and eyes will thank you.
- Keep your mouse, pen, note tab, phone, etc., all within good reach.
Just a note on standing desks, businesses and a few government agencies have acknowledged the health risks of a sedentary workforce and have given their workforce an option to have a standup desk.
Studies show that when given the option, most employees will go for the standup desk when offered.
Alternate between standing and sitting at your desk to alleviate added stress to your joints and spine.
Improve Your Posture
Check yourself throughout your workday and make sure you’re following the correct posture as displayed in the guide here:
How Much Activity Do We Need?
Studies show the threshold for sitting is 10 hours a day—including people who do the 30 mins a day of recommended working out.
Consider this scenario—you get up, do an amazing morning run for 45 mins, go to your desk job for 8 hours, and your total commute time is 2 hours. You’ve just basically sat for a solid 10 hours.
The benefits of your morning run are not as long-lasting as you’d hope.
You can incorporate simple changes into your day to help with your activity level.
WHO recommends that some physical activity is better than none for those not meeting the recommendation of 75 to 150 mins of moderate exercise per week.
If you’re suffering from mobility problems, start with small movements, such as a short walk. Set a goal and take small action steps to reach your goal. If you have a setback, restart and keep moving toward your goal.
Sometimes setting an achievable movement goal, you can easily attain every day will help you create a new habit.
Getting More Activity
Take a hard look at your behavior and admit if you have some sedentary behaviors.
- Sitting for long periods
- Watching television
- Playing video games
- Commuting to/from work
- Reading
- Sleeping for long periods
Do any of these activities look familiar? Well, you can’t make a change unless you know where you’re starting.
So, don’t be too hard on yourself if you’re not bouncing out of bed each morning going for a run because studies show people who are physically fit but lead a sedentary life outside of their daily workout can also suffer from sitting disease.
The best way to combat the ill effects of a sedentary life is to incorporate meaningful movement throughout your daily routine.
Action Steps:
Try adding more movement into your routine as an addition to the 75 to 150 mins of cardiovascular exercise per week recommended for able-bodied adults.
- Hand weights
- Take a moment to stretch, stand, and move around every 30 mins
- Walk on your break
- Walk on your lunch break
- Try a standing desk
- Try a desk bike or desk treadmill
- Under the desk elliptical
- Track your steps- make a daily goal and try to meet it
- Find opportunities that allow you more steps, such as parking farther away from the entrance
You might find it helpful to track your time in the beginning, to see where you can add in some additional movement.
Tracking Your Time
Have you kept track of how much time you spend sitting or lying down every day? If you want to find out, use a timer like this one.
Once you get a good idea of what your sedentary time looks like, you can start implementing a plan of action to purposefully get movement in throughout the day.
Revisit your routine for a few months to see where you can add more movement to your day.
Conclusion
Active people find a sedentary life can be brutal on the body and mind, and for those who don’t mind being inactive, it’s still hard to move at the end of the day.
You can combat the effects of a sedentary life by incorporating change in your everyday life while continuing to strive for a life in the slow lane.
Start with small changes that you are working into your schedule, such as a walk on your break.
Eventually, these changes become habits you’ll stick to.
Set up your workstation to be functional for your movements. Protect your hands, neck, vision, and arms with the correct height of your computer.
Invest in a great chair, one “rated” for long hours of sitting and one with support. And don’t forget to be mindful of the correct posture while you’re dialed into your work.
Was this article helpful? Happy Hour Copy provides content to medical practices and functional health professionals. If you need a blog writer or content for your practice, please contact May at May@happyhourcopy.com. This blog contains research links for further reading.
- RESOURCES: gov, bls.gov, acpm.org, nlm.gov, juststand.org, hopkinsmed.org, bmj.com
