Right after a hard day at work, sitting down is one of the best ways of relaxing, especially when you’ve been standing for hours, and you want to relax your muscles. However, sitting down for an extended period can have consequences, especially when it comes to our posture. However, it does have some effects on our overall health as well. In some cases, sitting down has more harm than good.
In most situations, we have to sit down since most of the nature of work we have to do revolves around sitting in front of the computer and going through different types of documents when we interact with others. While there’s no problem with sitting down so that we can easily concentrate on our work, repetitive tasks and movements can have lasting effects on our posture and our body.
Most office workers are stuck in a rock and a hard place: if we’re sitting too long at a particular position, this can affect our posture while also being detrimental to some parts of our body, but we also have to finish the work we have to do. Thus, it’s essential to know some important ways to reduce the effects of sitting, especially when your job will require you to sit down at eight to 12 hours a day.
But how do we reduce the effects of sitting around all day? Here’s what you’ll need to know.
Does It Affect Our Health?
Experts have found that sitting around for an extended period can usually cause complications to your health. One of the best ways to counter these effects would be to burn many calories every day while keeping muscles in good condition.
When you’re sitting in the same position all day, you’ll experience the following changes to your body:
Your metabolism tends to slow down, making it harder for your body to convert food to energy in your body. That means that you’ll gain more weight, and you’ll have complications in terms of nutrients and vitamins as your body struggles to extract much-needed sustenance. Since your muscles are not being placed to use, you will start losing strength, leading to muscle atrophy.
Just like muscles, bones will need to adapt to specific environments by being strengthened by physical activities. Bones can become brittle in the near future, which can make you prone to injuries.
With several body functions becoming weakened, the immune system also becomes weakened, especially when fewer vitamins are being supplied to the body.
Sitting is not necessarily a natural position for the body to be in, which can usually lead to poor blood circulation to key motor functions of the body. That will also cause certain inflammations in your body, especially if it’s not used to sitting down all the time. In several cases, serious mental issues are linked to sitting down for an extended period.
How Do We Reduce the Effects of Sitting All Day?
Fortunately, there are several ways of reducing the effects of sitting up all day. Here’s what you’ll need to know:
Invest in Ergonomic Equipment
First and foremost, investing in the right equipment one of the best ways of minimizing the stress and the effects of just sitting down. When we’re working, there are several reasons why we can’t just stand up, so it’s essential to take some breaks when you’re at the office by walking around. In some cases, people invest in standing desks that they use a few hours in a single day.
It’s important to note that sitting all day can usually lead to problems with the spine and the lower back. For the ordinary warehouse worker, lifting inventory, crates, and heavy objects manually can be a tedious process. When it comes to handling fragile wear and important devices with moving parts, it’s best to have the equipment and “vehicles” for lifting and transporting such inventory. Fortunately, there are warehouse forklift rental services that any business can avail of. Being able to move everything efficiently and with ease, logistically, is paramount in shipping out these goods in no time.
Simple Chores
While you’re just standing around, you can do some simple tasks and home and at the office. Studies have found that squatting or kneeling with one leg has far more benefits than sitting down. You might want to do some gardening while you’re squatting since this is an excellent way of getting your blood circulating.
Do Some Physical Activities
During your free time, you can also play sports as a way of compensating for downtime when your muscles aren’t doing anything. You don’t have to do sports that are heavy-hitting or rough as you can do some simple ones. You can also exercise while doing some warm-ups. Do you fancy someone? Flirt with them and start going on dates with long walks or any physical activity of your liking. You’d be surprised at what you can do when you’re not thinking about it.
While not many people know it, there are several reasons why sitting down all day is detrimental to your overall health. There are several ways of ensuring that the effects of sitting all day can be reduced. Ultimately, you don’t have to do too many intricate tasks to counter the effects of sitting down all day.
