Is Sitting Bad?

Most of us can guess that sitting for too long is not healthy, but do we know why? Besides the inactive lifestyle it can lead to, the Mayo clinic adds other more serious issues; “They include obesity and a cluster of conditions — increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol levels — that make up metabolic syndrome. In a study by the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology report researchers concluded that we burn 54 fewer calories when we sit for an hour than if we stood for the same hour.  This study is proof of why sitting is one of the reasons we gain weight. 

Is standing the better choice and are there any real benefits of standing?  

Standing sounds like the better option, but many people develop chronic back pain issues from standing too long.  Another potential problem, for example, “We found that people who primarily stand on the job are twice as likely to develop heart disease as people who primarily sit. This was the case even after taking into account a wide range of factors, including personal factors (including age, gender, education levels, ethnicity, immigrant status and marital status), health (e.g., diabetes, arthritis, hypertension, mood and anxiety disorders) and the type of work being performed (e.g., physical demands, shift schedule).” This information is from the article, Standing too much at work can double your risk of heart disease, by Peter Smith. Now we have to ask, which is better for us. 

What should we do more of, sit or stand?

For Healthline and many other researchers, the conclusion seems to be that alternating between sitting and standing is really the best plan for improving and maintaining your physical health. Since there is an increase in calorie burning of 54 calories per hour, Dr. Michael Rozin and myself think every little bit helps!  Everything we do such as: lifting a finger, blinking our eyes, laughing and standing uses up some energy.  In our daily life, we should build in opportunities and take them as often as we can. We do need to always listen to our bodies and stand for the time we can, without pain, and sit when we feel like we need to sit.

Here’s what some experts have to say about alternating sitting and standing.

HEALTHLINE

In the article from Healthline written by, Kristen Fischer, “Quite a few studies have shown that a single day of breaking up sitting with standing or short walks seems to have a beneficial effect on health parameters like blood sugar control, blood pressure, and feelings of pain and fatigue.” That was according to Barone Gibbs, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

Vari

A leader in making sit-stand desk converters is, VariDesk®, now Vari reports the benefits in education from standing up.  In classrooms, for instance, “standing has proven to be an effective way to improve memory and focus as well as test scores.”  I know from my own experience that those benefits extend outside a classroom too. If standing can help improve memory and focus, then we all need to do it more, not just in the classroom.

US NEWS

“Standing at your desk for part of the day can help your hips stay flexible, increase muscle activity and improve circulation.”

Summary

There are more reasons why standing up when you are at home in your daily life are more beneficial than sitting. As noted above, a few of the reasons to not sit so much are: better focus, improved memory, weight management and reduced hip tightness.  We need to think of these daily life opportunities, like standing when you read a book instead of sitting, and alternate them for our good health.

Here is a little video I created on how I read standing up.

LRHF Exercise at home – Reading Standing Up