Sitting too much can be bad for your health in more ways than one. Many impacts can be extremely harmful to your body if you’re sedentary too often. If you work from home or work in an office, you may spend hours per day sitting down without even realizing it. Because of this, it’s important to monitor how much time you spend sitting down and pay close attention to these negative impacts of sitting down too much so that you can start making positive changes to counteract them. Here’s what you need to know to avoid them.
You Are More Likely to Become Overweight
If you sit down all day, you’ll become overweight. And if you’re already overweight, then all that sitting will only make it worse. That’s because of a critical hormone in your body: leptin. Leptin is often called a satiety hormone, and its job is to tell your brain when you’re full (in more ways than one). What causes leptin levels to drop? While some research indicates that an uptick in metabolism while standing can cause a rapid drop in leptin levels, newer studies suggest there might be more to it than that. If sitting for extended periods has caused such a dip, simply standing up may not be enough to raise them again—your body may need something more stimulating like regular exercise.
You Increase Your Risk of Getting Cancer
Study results have demonstrated that reducing time spent sitting by just three hours each week can reduce your risk of developing cancer. That’s excellent news for those who spend many hours seated at a desk in front of a computer, or even worse, behind a steering wheel. For example, women are around 16 percent less likely to get breast cancer if they sit for fewer than three hours each day than those who spend more than seven hours per day sitting down.
You Affect Your Mood
A study by scientists examined 685 adults in a sitting or a standing desk setup. After spending five days in each setting, participants’ moods improved by 18% if they stood while working. Since one of exercise’s main benefits is improved mood, it makes sense that moving improves your emotional state—and that there may be no need to break out those dumbbells if you can’t get up. Keeping active doesn’t just improve your mental health; studies have shown that regular movement can reduce pain, keep you healthy, and prevent problems like diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. So stand up for your happiness! Remember: The key to keeping as active as possible is making it as easy on yourself as possible.
You Are More Likely to Develop Dementia
According to new research, the risk of getting dementia is more likely when people sit down for long periods every day. A study of middle-aged and older adults found that those who sat down a lot were at higher risk of developing dementia, even if they had a healthy lifestyle. The findings highlight that is simply exercising regularly is not enough to reduce your chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
