Contents:
- Medical Video: We Suffer In Silence - Stories of Chronic Lyme Disease
- Standing healthier than sitting
- Avoid chronic diseases by moving
- Tips to avoid the risk of chronic diseases if you often sit for a long time
Medical Video: We Suffer In Silence - Stories of Chronic Lyme Disease
In one day, how much time do you spend sitting? Do you sit or do more activities? How much time do you spend standing, walking, or doing light exercise?
A lot of evidence shows that the lack of physical activity such as too much sitting can lead to various chronic diseases, and this still applies even if you are in a very healthy condition. According to Dr. James Levine, co-director of the Mayo Clinic, there are at least 10,000 studies that have been published that show that too much sitting endangers health. Too long sitting even has the same amount of pain as smoking.
Standing healthier than sitting
Fortunately, you only need to do a simple thing to prevent this: move more. A study says that just by standing for 90 seconds, the muscles and cellular systems that process blood sugar, cholesterol and triglycerides in your body will be active. Thus, you can avoid diseases such as diabetes and heart attacks. On the other hand, sitting for more than 8 hours per day shows that it can increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by as much as 90%.
According to research, our bodies are actually designed to be active throughout the day. If we do not fulfill these basic needs, we put a burden on the body to maintain its health. Sitting too long will disrupt the molecular activities that the body needs to function optimally, and the results will trigger various diseases. In other words, we do need rest, and the purpose of rest is to rest in our daily activities, and not vice versa.
Avoid chronic diseases by moving
Diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and neurodegenerative diseases are a number of diseases that are influenced by the level of physical activity. In cancer, for example, several studies show that physical activity plays an important role in the treatment and prevention of cancer. Because physical activity decreases insulin resistance, it will create a low sugar environment in the body that will slow the growth and spread of cancer cells.
Moving also increases circulation, brings more oxygen into the tissues and delivers more immune cells throughout the body.
Exercising also helps protect you from neurological diseases, one of the many diseases that attack old age. Research shows that exercise can:
- Increases blood flow to the brain: Oxygen and blood flow sufficient to the brain can optimize your brain in regulating the expression of genes in the molecular stage, protecting you from diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
- Triggers new cell growth in the brain: In the hippocampus, these new brain cells help improve memory and learning power.
- Triggers release neurotransmitter: Some neurotransmitter such as endorphin, serotonin, dopamine, glutamate, and GABA are known to have a positive effect on the body and human mood.
- Reducing the formation of plaques which will reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
Tips to avoid the risk of chronic diseases if you often sit for a long time
Lack of activity is not a good lifestyle at all. Sitting too much will reduce metabolism and conflict with systems that have been designed for the human body. As a result, blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels in the blood can become unbalanced.
Not only that, sitting too long with the wrong posture is also not good for the health of your back, neck, arms and wrist. Disorders of these parts of the body can cause chronic pain. Keep in mind, that painkillers are not the answer. You should avoid sitting too long and move as much as possible.
You can use fitness tracker on smartphone You monitor your movements. Normally, you are recommended to move 7000 to 10000 steps per day, or sit less than three hours per day. As a practical guide, if you sit for an hour, you mean you have been sitting for too long.
