The Damage Prolonged sitting can Cause to Our Lives

In our world today, the average individual does it for an average of 10 hours daily, and while it looks lie something very comforting, it is doing more harm to us and our health that we will ever imagine. With a body made up of 640 muscles, 360 joints, 900 ligaments, and 206 bones, how would you expect that sitting will be what they were made for. Actually, these parts of muscles, appendages, and bones are built to be moved and that is why people experience weakness of muscles and bones after prolonged sitting.

Physical inactivity is the 4 leading cause of death, with people comparing sitting to smoking. One thing that happens when we sit is the compressing of the arteries, veins, nerves, internal organs, and muscles. This effect is seen in so many systems in our body such as the skeletomuscular system. Talking about the skeleton and how physical inactivity affects it, it is good that we discuss the spine.

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The spine is made up of 33 bones and 23 discs. Excessive sitting leads to the the curving of the spine since the bones and discs are placed under unequal pressure. Leading to the straining of the muscles that supports them as well as inflammation. In short muscles such as the hamstrings, calves, and inner hip, it leads to rigidity of those muscles.These combined leads to lower back pain. Sitting also causes the back to experience an exacerbated thoracic kyphosis which causes the back to round forward putting restrictions on the ability of the lungs to breath properly.

Sitting for a prolonged time also affects the respiratory system, as sitting causes the chest cavity size to reduce thereby preventing the lungs from expanding properly during respiration which leads to the reduction in the amount of oxygen that enters the bloodstream. Asides from the lungs that is being affected as a result of the chest be compressed, the abdomen is also affected but this time around, it increases abdominal pressure making it difficult for the diaphragm muscle to expand properly leading to less air being inhaled.

Although researches are not conclusive yet, it is said that sitting slows down digestion as there is less space for the movement of food through the body as a result of the organs being compressed and this can lead to constipation. Another effect of prolonged sitting is reduction in the good cholesterol of the body. Sitting for about 2 hours lead to a 20% reduction in good cholesterol. It also leads to a drop in lipoprotein lipase, and this leads to the slowing down of fat burning rate in the blood.

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The circulatory system is not excluded from the effect of the sedentary lifestyle. When we sit, the circulatory muscles become compressed. Sitting for about 3 hours reduces arterial dilation by 50% leading to the constriction of blood vessels which leads to the reduction of blood flow. The nervous system is also affected by immobility as tingling and numbness in the limbs. Siting leads to limitation of signals to be sent to the brain.

Talking about the brain, the vertebral arteries provides 20% of the blood that goes to the brain and when we sit, the head goes forward due to the tightness of the hamstring and lumbar kyphosis, causing the vertebral arteries to be compressed leading to low blood flow to the brain leading to lower concentration level. Asides from the immediate effect of sitting for too long persistent lack of activity or immobility can lead to or is a risk factor for conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, liver disease, and certain types of cancer.

^Reference